blossoms burst snowy white
springtime’s first dazzling sight
~kat
Essence #19 for Jane Dougherty’s Daily Essence Poem Challenge. The medians on my way to work are lined in a sea of white blooms. I love the contrast of white on black branches…even if they make me sneeze!
an iron knight from space
seems odd, quite out of place
~kat
A bit of the bizarre for Jane Dougherty’s Daily Essence Poetry Challenge. This super-sized fellow stands guard at the rear of a local eclectic pizza eatery called ‘The Mellow Mushroom’. Just behind him are the dumpsters. One can’t be too careful when it comes to protecting rubbish! 😉
There is something to be said for the wisdom that comes with experience. The past week presented a whole host of challenges…my partner’s unemployment, the daily saga, firings and resignations, from the bowels of our tenuous government, stressful workplace drama, a late winter snowstorm that shut the city down. I’m not looking for sympathy. This is life. And I am fully aware that my week might be viewed as a piece of cake compared to the challenges of others who may be facing real tragedy and loss.
I say all this to acknowledge that when I was younger even the slightest shift in my universe would throw me into a tizzy. Now, with decades of survival under my belt, even the most challenging calamity is met with a “meh”.
There is comfort in that. Comfort that I’ve earned over the course of a lifetime. Winter is but a temporary season…spring is coming; there will be a new job, just in time, and likely better than the last; my country has a fickle affair with politicians and the bad eggs are eventually tossed into the compost heap of history, and my stressful job? It pays the bills, but it’s not my life. I am reminded everyday that the world ticks on and that deadlines mean nothing in the grand scheme of things as I gaze out my window at ancient mountains and wind tossed trees.
With age and a sure and steady track record of survival thus far I have reached a certain mellowness…like fine wine or cheese, life in all its variety, meant to be savored slowly.
Have a lovely week in spite of it all. ❤️
what I crave is more sleep
snow storm, don’t lose your head
cool stillness
whispering soft on fragrant swells
But, can I be honest?
winter stings budding trees
melted snow, muddy swamp
perseverance in winter’s wake
frigid gusts bend branches
though chances are slim
blue serene, sweet greenness
say a prayer for me
a blissful sight, dreaming
beautiful bird song
the one true thing
poetry is a window
~kat
A ReVerse poem 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 over time. I use it as a review of the previous week.
Friday’s word of the day at dictionary.com is identified as an Americanism dating back to 1885-90. Bunglesome is characterized as or marked by bungling, clumsy, awkward, or incompetent. What really intrigued me about this word is the idea that it is considered an “Americanism”.
In case you are wondering, an Americanism is a word or phrase (or, less commonly, a feature of grammar, spelling, or pronunciation) that (supposedly) originated in the United States and/or is used primarily by Americans. Some accounts state that the term was first coined by the Reverend John Witherspoon, founding father and signer of the Declaration of Independence and president of what would become Princeton University.
Here’s are a few notable phrases and words: wigwam, pretzel, spook, depot and canyon, that borrowed from the Indians, Germans, Dutch, French and Spanish.”
Here is a list of Americanisms and their British English counterpart:
American English/British English
antenna/aerial
mad/angry
anyplace/anywhere
fall/autumn
bill/bank note
attorney/barrister, solicitor
cookie/biscuit
hood/bonnet
trunk/boot
suspenders/braces
janitor/caretaker
Read the entire list HERE.
So bunglesome is apparently an Americanism. In fact I also learned that you can add the suffix -some to a whole host of words. It makes the root word an adjective that implies more of the root word it is attaching to.
Well, I had best get to the Haiku. I’m already late, but bunglesome is too good a word to miss!
for bunglesome pols
appointed to a play a role
loyalty is key
~kat
poetry is a window
to my heart;
words like
breath to me
the one true thing
you can know is
that a lifetime
is but a moment
in time sweetened
by love
beautiful bird song
sweetens the dusk
the quiet murmur of
leaves rustling
wind chimes softly
echoing
~kat
like mercury colliding... 