legacy
coursing through my veins, directing my existence,
lifeblood, DNA containing the legacy of my ancestors
heroes, scoundrels, paupers, royalty, saints, average folk,
their footprints in the dust long disbursed to the wind
and me here, now, my simple life carrying us on anonymously
~kat
A Gogyohka for Wordcraft Poetry’s Tanka Tuesday Ekphrastic Challenge inspired by the photo above.
A Shadorma (3/5/3/3/7/5) for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge. Today’s Prompt: Poet’s Choice, following Colleen’s suggestion to give thanks this December as the year draws to an end.
in the end
compassion prevailed
but only
by a thread
history in the making’s
ours for the taking
Also tried a Gogyohka. Each line of a Gogyohka comprises one phrase with a line-break after each phrase or breath.
nightmares
do not linger
in the minds
of daydreamers
roused by the light
And finally a Tanka. 57577
thank you dear strangers
for caring about others
for wearing a mask
to all unlikely heroes
we see you; we won’t forget
~kat
A look back at the last few weeks of verse by line. The nightmare is almost over. Four years of chaos is spiraling like a whirlwind. I suppose the most shocking thing for many of us is the number of people who voted for the chaos. America, we thought we knew you. Many of us believed, given the chance, you would choose decency, honesty and compassion over corruption, lies and hate. Those of us who declared, “this is not who we are” are learning that, for almost half of us, it is sadly who we are. Who they are. How we had hoped for reconciliation, for healing, for bridging the divide that has broken us. Half of us are okay with lawlessness, with separating children from their parents, locking them up like animals and throwing away the key, half of us are okay with racism, misogyny, white supremacy, isolating ourselves from the rest of the world, from our allies, aligning with dictators, our president turning a blind eye to a virus that is raging out of control, killing us by the thousands. It is shocking and heartbreaking to see the truth. The coming years will be challenging. And it may surprise you to know that I still have hope that we can do better…be better. It won’t be easy but at least for me, it means treating others with kindness. It is the least and the most that I can do. I hope you’ll join me.
Sunday’s ReVerse - 29 November 2020
innocence slipping away
fading away in waves
we shouldn’t be surprised at all
the forever greenness of our minds
when blood was thick and skin was deep
we pick and choose what to believe
but opinion can’t make it so
~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 over time. I use it as a review of the previous week…or in this case, the past few weeks.
off the edge
the earth is not flat
opinion can’t make it so
life, death, and taxes
the sun rises and the sun sets
the moon’s face cycles new to full
we’re all bound by gravity’s pull
the truth is absolute and yet
it’s easy to forget and let
emotions cloud our fickle minds
you know it happens all the time
we pick and choose what to believe
it makes us easy to deceive
like silly sheep we follow blind
~kat
This week’s combo challenge inspired by Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Challenge, Prompt Words LIFE & VIEW (OPINION) and Décima Poetry Challenge, Prompt Word BLIND - C-Line Rhyme. A Décima is a ten line poem, eight syllables each line in the rhyme scheme: abbaaccddc. This week’s prompt word must be used at the end of one of the C lines with the other C lines rhyming.
bitter sweetness
she
smiles
when she thinks
of simpler times
before life became
complicated, before
the world split into two
when blood was thick and skin was deep
and love bore all things and believed all things...
smiles, though remembering breaks her heart
~kat
An Etheree for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday Theme prompt based on the poem below by Sue Vincent. clouds cover the moon, beyond dawn's pale horizon sun rises unseen ©2020 Sue Vincent
like mercury colliding... 