Tag Archives: Rondeau

March 29, 2025

day 87

bleeding hearts

our hearts…they bleed more every day
as the world’s woes chip away
small pieces of our tenderness
we’re not alone in our distress
over the cruelty on display

we cling to hope though, come what may
decry the wrongs they’ve put in play
they’ll find that they cannot oppress 
our hearts…

determined, we will find a way
to root out hate, it’s not okay
our voices will not be suppressed
our power is togetherness
you cannot break us, not today
our hearts…

~kat

I needed a rally cry today. It’s exhausting, trying to keep up with the latest left shoe dropping in what has become a massive depository of left shoes. Those us us with two left feet should be overjoyed…I’m not BTW…overjoyed, that is. I’m exhausted.

I have been reconnecting with friends and acquaintances to check in on them…to see how they’re doing in the midst of all the chaos and destruction in our country. Some responses have given me pause…”I’m doing great! It’s about time our government leaders clean the swamp…” That is not an answer I hoped to hear, but it lets me know where I stand, and who I can trust.

Now more than ever it’s important to identify the safe places and people in our lives, and to establish meaningful connections with them; to check in with each other regularly. This is not a time in our history to go into hiding, hoping the storm will blow over eventually. We know from history that apathy and avoidance is seen as acquiescence to malevolent oppressors seeking power and control.

So…today’s glimmer assignment, should you choose to accept it…reach out to those glimmering souls in your universe. Be a light for them and surround yourself in their light. “They” (the powers that be) want us to believe we are powerless. That’s a lie. We have each other…and we are legion.

Much love, peace and glimmers to you…btw…I see you ✨💚✨

~kat

Today’s poem is a Rondeau.

The rondeau is a French form of three stanzas, totaling fourteen lines. The rhyme and rhythm are very strict.The first stanza is a quintet (five lines), the second is a quatrain (four lines), and the third and last is a sestet(six lines).

The rhyme scheme is aabba aabR aabbaR. R stands for the refrain which is the first four syllables of the first line of the poem. The rhythm is iambic tetrameter (four beats per line) except for the refrain which is iambic dimeter (two beats).

And one more thing…

Tom stopped by with a word of wisdom. You see, turkey toms generally do not appear this hunky and handsome. But they know how to gussy up, to take up space, to become larger than life by poofing their feathers as they strut into your space. It’s impressive…and intimidating. If we let it, our hearts can do the same for us. Compassion, Love, and Kindness takes up space and is strikingly impressive in the presence of hate. So in a world of MagaDons, (sounds like a dinosaur doesn’t it?! I think it’s time for them to become extinct!)…in the meantime, you know what to do…be a Tom. ✨💚✨

10 Comments | tags: digital art., digital photography, Poetry, Rondeau, turkeys | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Rondeau, Social Issues

March 11, 2025

day 70

By Kat Myrman

Wow…I don’t know if the turkey hens were impressed by this display, but I certainly was, as these Toms strutted their stuff in spectacular fashion! I had just stepped away from my desk for a short break to make a cup of tea …just in time to witness the spring Turkey trot right outside my window.

It feels like spring now. What an amazing glimmer to start my day! I’m so glad I had my phone close by so I could take photos of this annual ritual to share with you.

Meanwhile, the world continued on its chaotic roll today, but there is one thing I know…our leaders cannot cancel spring!

Peace, Amoré ❤️🌹❤️ and glimmers to you!

~kat

a small, significant consolation

at least they cannot cancel spring
as they dismantle everything
healthcare, justice, who needs those
education…that’s got to go
America now has a king

he’s on a binge of firing
while dancing on a puppet string
vile dictators, his band of bros
at least they cannot cancel spring

trees alive with songbirds singing
longer days, blue sky, sun shining
rain-drenched earth where seedlings grow
whatever happens, we can know
nature keeps the world spinning
at least they cannot cancel spring 

~kat

Today’s Poetry Form: The Rondeau

The traditional rondeau is a poem consisting of 3 stanzas, 13 original lines, and 2 refrains (of the first line of the poem) with 8 to 10 syllables per line and an A/B rhyme scheme.

A(R)
A
B
B
A

A
A
B
A(R)

A
A
B
B
A
A(R)

13 Comments | tags: digital photography, Glimmers, Poem a Day, Poetry, Rondeau, spring, turkeys | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Rondeau, Social Issues, Spirituality

April 1, 2024

NaPoWriMo 2024 – Day 1 – matriarch

By Kat Myrman

matriarch
 
in troubling times when chaos rules the day
mother beckons, come away, come away
balm, sweet as honey, she pours o’er our heads
with tales of yore, tucks us tight in our beds
mother knows best when we are led astray
 
buried secrets hum, things we dare not say
stay busy…busy, to hide our dismay
the sting of truth drives us from things we dread
in troubling times
 
when justice denied requires a stay
when power’s a poison, patriarchs play
when terrible truths rise up from the dead
when madness compels us to flee instead
mother calls us to dance amidst the fray
in troubling times

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day One Challenge: Write – without consulting the book – a poem that recounts the plot, or some portion of the plot, of a novel that you remember having liked but that you haven’t read in a long time.

The Book: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Today’s Poetry Form: The Rondeau

The rondeau is comprised of 15 lines across three stanzas with the first word or phrase from the first line represented as a refrain (R) and a rhyme scheme of two rhymes throughout (A and B). The rhyme and refrain scheme looks like this:

A (R)
A
B
B
A

A
A
B
R

A
A
B
B
A
R

The A and B lines are usually eight or 10 syllables in length. The refrain is usually one to three words (or so).

10 Comments | tags: Challenge, NaPoWriMo2024, Poem a Day, Poetry, Rondeau | posted in 2024, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, napowrimo, Poetry, Rondeau

April 12, 2020

only a rose – NaPoWriMo/ GloPoWriMo Challenge Day 11

By Kat Myrman

only a rose

if your love for me is true as you say
bring to me a red rose every day
a red carnation’s sure to make me weep
like clusters of marigolds, my tears to keep
take care the blooms you choose for my bouquet

the wormwood taunts me when you are away
white dittany with my emotions play
swallow wort ensnared, I’m losing sleep
if your love for me is true

thorns should not deter your grand display
forget me not my dear, don’t be dismayed
the greatest cure for all is love that’s deep
a simple rose of red, painful and sweet
is all I ask to prove you’re here to stay
if your love for me is true

~kat

A rondeau for NaPoWriMo/ GloPoWriMo Challenge Day 11. It was a busy day. I barely managed to eke this one out…so many flowers to consider, so little time! The prompt: write a poem in which one or more flowers take on specific meanings.

Rondeau

A Rondeau is a French form, 15 lines long, consisting of three stanzas: a quintet, a quatrain, and a sestet with a rhyme scheme as follows: aabba aabR aabbaR. Lines 9 and 15 are short – a refrain (R) consisting of a phrase taken from line one. The other lines are longer (but all of the same metrical length)

4 Comments | tags: Challenge, digital art., GloPoWriMo2020, NaPoWriMo2020, Poem a Day, Poetry, poetry month, Rondeau | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, napowrimo, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Rondeau

April 1, 2020

like an autumn leaf – NaPoWriMo/GloPoWriMo Challenge Day 1

By Kat Myrman

like an autumn leaf

like an autumn leaf, I’m clinging against the wind
crimson flushed, vexed by this calamity’s cruel din
now furloughed from the cubicle that once sustained
makeshift desk, remotely linked at home, is not the same
but duty calls, resigned am I to shelter in

one by one we watched the nations fail to win
succumbing to this foe, that strikes us from within
pandemics don’t discriminate, we’re the same
like an autumn leaf

my bank account and pantry are slowly growing thin
worried for coworkers, my family, my friends
normal lost forever, “new normal” stakes its claim
history will remember, we were forever changed
many not surviving this cruel whirlwind
like an autumn leaf

~kat

NaPoWriMo/GloPoWriMo Challenge Day 1: Write a self-portrait poem in which you make a specific action a metaphor for your life – one that typically isn’t done all that often, or only in specific circumstances. For example, bowling, or shopping for socks, or shoveling snow, or teaching a child to tie its shoes.

For today’s poem, a Rondeau. The Rondeau is a French form, 15 lines long, consisting of three stanzas: a quintet, a quatrain, and a sestet with a rhyme scheme as follows: aabba aabR aabbaR. Lines 9 and 15 are short – a refrain (R) consisting of a phrase taken from line one. The other lines are longer (but all of the same metrical length).

11 Comments | tags: Challenge, digital art., GloPoWriMo2020, NaPoWriMo2020, Poetry, Rondeau | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, napowrimo, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Rondeau