landlocked
I long for the sea
toes dug deep in sand where it’s cool
swallowed by foamy surf
lips that taste of salt
~kat
Naani Poem
The Naani poem has its roots in India. It’s a modern day type of poem. It has four lines only. The entire poem can have 20-25 syllables. there is no restriction concerning the theme of the poem.
So, this has been a creative endeavor. While playing around with a recent photo of the forest in my back yard I stumbled upon the face of the goddess herself, smiling at me through the trees…or maybe I just have an overactive imagination. At any rate it made for an interesting poem and an even more interesting graphic to accompany it. I’m posting the original and then the enhanced mirrored version. Do you see her? Or maybe it’s just me! 🥰
Gaia
Grecian immortal
goddess, primordial
great-breasted nurturer,
gift-giver, earth mother,
green-adorned sustainer
giving birth to the sky…
generations, extolled
~kat
Pleiades
This titled form was invented in 1999 by Craig Tigerman, Sol Magazine’s Lead Editor. Only one word is allowed in the title followed by a single seven-line stanza. The first word in each line begins with the same letter as the title. Hortensia Anderson, a popular haiku and tanka poet, added her own requirement of restricting the line length to six syllables.
Background of the Pleiades: The Pleiades is a star cluster in the constellation Taurus. It is a cluster of stars identified by the ancients, mentioned by Homer in about 750 B.C and Hesiod in about 700 B.C. Six of the stars are readily visible to the naked eye; depending on visibility conditions between nine and twelve stars can be seen. Modern astronomers note that the cluster contains over 500 stars. The ancients named these stars the seven sisters: Alcyone, Asterope, Celaeno, Electra, Maia, Merope, and Tygeta; nearby are the clearly visible parents, Atlas and Pleione.
The poetic form The Pleiades is aptly named: the seven lines can be said to represent the seven sisters, and the six syllables represent the nearly invisible nature of one sister.
Source: http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/pleiades.html
spring dance
everything
around me
blushes green
spring
trembles softly
there in the wings
even as frost
blankets the loam
dance
darling daffodils,
peepers and bluebirds
sing your happy songs
winter’s end is near
and spring won’t be long
~kat
As busy as I have been this year with work and caretaking, I could not let Pi Day pass without giving a new Pi inspired poetry form a go! It’s called a Cadae and incorporates the first 5 digits (3.1415). See the details below:
There are two styles of Cadae. (I chose the second style for today.)
1. strophic, written in 5 strophes of fixed but varied length.
S1 - 3 lines
S2 - 1 line
S3 - 4 lines
S4 - 1 line
S5 - 5 lines
2. Incorporating a syllabic element to the strophes in style #1.
S1 - 3 lines with 3 syllables per line
S2 - 1 line with 1 syllable in the line
S3 - 4 lines with 4 syllables per line
S4 - 1 line with 1 syllable in the line
S5 - 5 Lines with 5 syllables per line
the forest for the trees
I know they’re there
the golden hillside
the mountain vista
the endless blue sky
the sun
my memory
serves me well..
they’re there
but for today
heaven enfolds me
in her cool, damp cocoon
to savor the moment
to breathe, to sigh
to notice the trees
for the forest
~kat
daffodils in winter
it’s too soon
much too soon
my darling daffodils
to breach the loam
to dare to bloom
much, much too soon
i’m sorry dear, sweet daffodils
the mercury ascended
disguised itself as spring
to lure us from our winter wombs
to prey upon our longing hearts
tomorrow you will feel the sting
as winter rides the ides,
lurks, waiting in the wings
his frosty breath descending
to nip your golden face at dawn
but oh the hope you give my soul
weary from these long, long nights
spring tidings to you for today
may she not tarry long
~kat
like mercury colliding... 