Category Archives: Digital Art & Photos

blackberries

blackberries

she is a wall at the forest’s edge
an impenetrable bramble, untamed
some say she’s invasive, an unruly hedge
in fact she’s a rose of another sweet name

an impenetrable bramble, untamed
greening each spring, flowering to buds
in fact she’s a rose of another sweet name
with drupelets sweet and ready to pluck

greening each spring, flowering to buds
one must take care when venturing too close
with drupelets sweet and ready to pluck
her prickly cane stem’s a formidable foe

one must take care when venturing too close
when fair rubis ursinus nips, she draws blood
her prickly cane stem’s a formidable foe
a favorite snack of deer folk and thrush

when fair rubis ursinus nips, she draws blood
she is a wall at the forest’s edge
a favorite snack of deer folk and thrush
some say she’s invasive, an unruly hedge

~kat

NaPoWriMo2023 Challenge Day 17: Write a poem that contains the name of a specific variety of edible plant – preferably one that grows in your area. In the poem, try to make a specific comparison between some aspect of the plant’s lifespan and your own – or the life of someone close to you. Also, include at least one repeating phrase.

I chose to do a Pantoum ( see the rules below):

Stanza 1: ABAB
1 First line (A)
2 Second line (B)
3 Third line rhymes with first (A)
4 Fourth line rhymes with second (B)

Stanza 2: BCBC
5 Repeat the second line (B)
6 Sixth line (C)
7 Repeat the fourth line (B)
8 Eighth line rhymes with sixth (C)

Stanza 3: CDCD
9 Repeat the sixth line (C)
10 Tenth line (D)
11 Repeat the eighth line (C)
12 Twelfth line rhymes with the tenth (D)

Stanza 4: DADA
13 Repeat tenth line (D)
14 Fourteenth line rhymes with first (A)
15 Repeat twelfth line (D)
16 Repeat the first line (A)


being honest

being honest

if I were the least bit
honest
I would lie to you
tell you everything
is going to be okay
that we will get through this
you and me
that one day we’ll look back
and laugh at how silly it was
for us to worry
I would tell you this
and more because
it’s what you need
to hear most right now
but
i’m not honest, not one bit
the truth of the matter
not that it matters
is that I’m terrified
this might not end well
for you, for us…
we just don’t need dishonesty
when we’re hanging by a thread

~kat

NaPoWriMo2023 Challenge Day Sixteen: Today’s prompt is a poem of negation – yes (or maybe, no), I challenge you to write a poem that involves describing something in terms of what it is not, or not like.


A ReVerse Poem for Sunday, April 16, 2023

Happy Sunday!  I decided to give today’s Reverse time to simmer. When I started it a week ago it just didn’t seem ripe. And in the process of reviewing, I made a few tweaks here and there. Most notably yesterday’s limerick poem which was atrocious in form…where was my head? To save you the trouble of revisiting said disaster, I’ll leave the edited version for you here: 

Uncle Ned

Old Uncle Ned, a likable guy was he
An affable charmer, the cousins agreed
He made the kids laugh
For his jokes were quite daft
Made us wonder what was in his tea!

At least now it is a proper limerick that actually follows the rules and rhymes!

And secondly, I added a line to my diatribe from Friday, “a brief moment, lost”. As if I didn’t rant enough, there was one more thought left unsaid. You know how that goes, when the floodgates open and you finally unload everything you’ve been holding onto. Then when you walk away there is just one more thing…that “I wish I would had said” moment, but it’s too late. Well, that’s the beauty of the written word. You can edit it. So if you will, indulge me this final word, my “and another thing”. I’m including the context as well to give it full due…

…I have learned to look them
straight in the eyes, dare them to
objectify me, to present my own
ideas, and tell them it’s time
to make their own damn coffee…
and while they’re at it, bring me mine.

To say that the past several months have taken a toll would be an understatement. But much like the wonder years of being a “mother of 4 under the age of 4…how did I ever do it?”, and later a mother of 4 teenage daughters, I’m finding my stride as a full time official senior citizen, still working full time and now, caring for a spouse who is incapacitated from complications of a major emergency surgery in January. If nothing else I am a survivor. And much to my own surprise I still have plenty of spunk left in me. Life is such a gift! Through it all, I think I needed to be reminded of that.

A ReVerse Poem for Sunday, April 16, 2023

like a nightmare frozen in the sky
is it ghosts, god, or me I hear
how climactic
we dare not want
leaving no stained rock unturned
I’m just kidding (but you’re thinking I’m not)
I’m paying for the demons of your past
In waves she sweeps me off my feet
it’s on the internet
stirring up words, uninspired
let’s bring in the cows
They lied to us you know.
He made the kids laugh

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts. 

magnetic haiku

the fiddler’s playing
in the shadow of the moon
let’s bring in the cows

~kat

NaPoWriMo2023 Challenge Day 13:  try writing a short poem (or a few, if you’re inspired) that follows the beats of a classic joke. Emphasize the interplay between the form of the poem – such as the line breaks – and the punchline.

For this challenge I decided to write a haiku style poem using the magnetic poetry online tool…Nature Kit.

one-sided

one-sided 

you don’t hear me when I say I love you
I’m paying for the demons of your past
after all these years, still you have to ask
you can’t believe I’ll stay forever true

I wonder if there’s more that I can do
to prove my love, or would it be a waste
it’s exhausting when my effort is misplaced
it’s worth reminding you what we’ve been through

we’ve seen it all, the better and the worst
sickness, yours and mine, and family too
adversity, met head on, we two pulled through
if I had to choose, you know I’d pick you first

so tell me darling dear, do you love me
please spare me all this effort, set me free

~kat

I am not a fan of sonnets. But a challenge is a challenge. Chewed on this all day. Obligatory sonnet penned. Glad this is done. 


NaPoWriMo2023 Challenge Day Nine: Sunday Sonnet - write your own sonnet. Incorporate tradition as much or as little as you like – while keeping in general to the theme of “love.”

In general, though, here are the main characteristics that define most sonnets:
* Number of Lines: 14
* Meter: Typically iambic pentameter
* Rhyme Scheme: Petrarchan (abba abba cde cde or abba abba cdc dcd) or Shakespearean (abab cdcd efef gg), among many others
* Unique Qualities: Contains a volta (twist or turn) closer to the end of the sonnet
* Common Themes: Typically love and romance but also faith, time, personal emotions, and social/political matters