In response to Rick Daddario’s 30 DOH/Days of Haiga which you can read more of at https://19planets.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/haiga-2017-013-30doh-shadow-music.
Nana’s Happy Place
This is for Rick Daddario’s 30 DOH/Days of Haiga. Read more at
https://19planets.wordpress.com/2017/09/10/haiga-2017-010-30doh-mississippi-flood-waters-circa-1940-50-minnesota. Photo below is my daughter’s.
Persuaded By A Smile
I never knew her name and remembrance
of her face has faded from memory
but her kindness still remains steadfast
within the warmth of my beating heart
where upon I still see the upright grand
dusty and in need of repair standing
proudly in the living room of a house
I only encroached drawn by its’ beauty
for she saw I was smitten by its’ presence
and invited me to play for even though
not a lesson had I the music seemed to
pass without pause to my finger tips
as I came to knock each day upon the door
to see the beauty of her smile and knew
that she no longer played but entreated
me to sit once more at the upright grand
© August 2017 Renee Espriu
This is in response to Jamie Dede’s Wednesday Prompt at https://jamiededes.com/2017/08/23/mrs-g-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt. Please visit her site and read more. The photo below was taken from Morgue File & digitally altered by myself.
“Stained” Glass Windows
She embraced the rituals of worship
of which practicing seemed to bring calm
to a personal life bereft of its’ being
whereupon entering a sacred place of
stained glass windows and the statues
of holy saints long dead brought
daily tests to question her soul
she watched men cloaked in white robes
garnished with vestments hung about
their necks symbols of their holiness
where the incense they spread in the air
afflicted her senses but must be done
for it was said it purified & cleansed
raising up the prayers of the faithful
but nothing addressed her innocence to
enlighten her of past holy wars that spread
death to those who believed naught the same
so she entertained a communion white veil
to be replaced later by a robe of red as
she promised to put her belief in those
words written by nameless faces of others
she believed in it all until the day her
faith stood the ultimate test of the reaper
causing her heart to have a hope of its’ own
© August 2017 Renee Espriu
This is in response to Jamie Dedes’s Wednesday Prompt. You can see other poet’s responses at https://jamiededes.com/2017/08/16/a-puppet-dancing-in-the-dark-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt. The photo below was taken from the Morgue File and digitally altered by myself.
An Infinity of Stars Woven
Within the landscape of time are
the shadows of war residing
casting doubts of fear
over hope filled integrity
for if I could but ease the pain
& erase the memory of horror
that slices through hearts
once laden with joy
I would
but there will always be those
who seek righteousness loaded
with weapons of destruction
their efforts devoid
of compassion
and soldiers who participate
on the battlefields of wars
whether at home or across seas
will carry scars always
and if it were possible within
me as a wordsmith to pen a poem
of salve and healing
I would
so that children may once again play
on peaceful soil under watchful eyes
of mothers and fathers
who can rest assured
of a tomorrow
filled with the spirit of love
& that fireworks will be celebration
& not the deafening voices
of bombs falling
for my soul cannot rest within me
until the vision of the universe
is the essence of peace shining
like an infinity of stars
the threads of woven fabric
like none that has ever been made
containing naught of the shadows of war
but a humanity of peacemakers
the gardeners sowing
seeds for the
future
© August 2017 Renee Espriu
This is in response to Jamie Dedes’s Wednesday Prompt. Please read more poets responses at https://jamiededes.com/2017/08/09/do-not-make-war-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt. The photo below was taken from the Morgue File and digitally altered by myself.
Hummingbird Mishap
She had never seen such a tiny bird thus her first introduction to it was one of total surprise. A sunny day as always and she played outside as all that lived there from the roses, bushes and trees were enough to make her happy. If it were up to her she would spend all of her time there for even some insects caused the curiosity in her to grow except, of course, that of spiders. She learned to stay clear of them for she grew up learning that some were not welcome, such as the Black Widow, so therefore she felt it best to leave them be.
It would have been a day like any other, she playing and exploring but it was about to change and cause her wonder she had not known there was. Her father was busy doing what fathers did in a garage and she paid him no mind, really. He, at one point, set the sprinkler to watering the grass and she watched as he did so.
She would remember it always. One minute things were as they always had been of a sun warmed day and the next the fastest creature with wings lay upside down on the concrete patio. She marveled at it and asked what it was. Her father turned and looked down with a smile, walked over and gave the little bird a nudge with his finger. It suddenly flipped itself over and was off faster than a blink of an eye.
Heart beating excitement
a wonder of flight
seeking flower nectar
“It’s a Hummingbird”, he said. “You don’t often see them because they are so fast.” I stood speechless and marveled it had been so close.
© August 2017 Renee Espriu
The art piece below is one I finished to go with this story. I used acrylics, watercolor and something to increase the life of the acrylics so they wouldn’t dry quite as fast while I worked. It is done on canvas. Lately I am feeling rather like a chemist with my paints but enjoying the process.
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Radiant Sound
She always thought of time as that of a thief in the night. As she lays sleeping it will silently and quickly take minutes, hours, days, months and years from her already long life. She wakes in the morning feeling as though she has lost something, misplaced during the moments of tiredness before she lays down to sleep. It will come to her, certainly, and she will find that which is lost is still within her reach. But the worrisome object of her concern does not appear.
She goes about her day watching the telltale signs that she is late for an appointment. Perhaps the sun is too high in the sky now, there are far too many people already busy about their day. The air once coolish, settling on her skin and the tiny drops of moisture from the marine layer of air, has warmed urging her to shed her hoody to expose her arms to the sun’s rays. She parks her car as quickly as a full parking lot will allow her and approaches the seven story building. After traversing the steps she enters the door and takes the elevator up. But, no, she is on time for the ritualistic drawing of blood to tell her that her blood in neither too thick nor too thin. A small price to pay for her gift of life orchestrated by a synthetic valve within her chest.
constant ticking clock
radiant sound
within a beating heart
She walks into the afternoon sun and views her surroundings. She is always surprised and amazed she is still here to view the horizon as though she is seeing it for the first time and is only now stepping into her life.
© July 2017 Renee Espriu
*The Road Leads Away and Back*
The road leads away and back again
for the tiniest of babies now living
but for the creation of incubators
the path could be a distant memory
for those stricken with lifeless legs
albeit for the miracle of polio vaccine
memories might be a thing of life’s past
due to serious illness or head injury
life possible due to life support equipment
born with loss of limbs or due to accident
immobility the darkness of every dawn
mobile once again with prosthetics
every breath painfully labored and slow
lungs damaged by disease or by choices
the miracle of oxygen lines extending life
the nucleus of human life suddenly stops
a heart unable to support another moment
an artificial valve ignites beating again
for all of these reasons and many more
the list too extensive and long to write
the road leads away and back again
© March 2017 Renee Espriu
This was first published in the Bezine. You can read more of this current edition by going to https://thebezine.com/project-type/the-bezine-march-2017-vol-3-issue-6.
Photo Taken From Morgue File & Digitized by Myself
***A Miracle of The Heart***
I was but ten years old and fearless
steeped in the tradition of miracles
brought about by steadfast prayer
symbols of candles and holy water
rituals with the heavy smell of incense
chimes and bells extolling virtues
of those who gazed upon a crucifix
a man’s body nailed upon its’ image
a man whose story repeated as an echo
through time, through space in my head
someone I would never meet and who
lived in a distant past Jerusalem
I never questioned as my prayers filled
the vast void of my heart in need
of those miracles I believed would come
when an accident left you living
but only a shadow of who you once were
leaving me with unfulfilled prayers
feeling betrayed by a belief system
filled with rituals of incense and bells
of symbolic candles and crosses
a lifetime spent in understanding
that beliefs are what you make of them
that systems may not work or betray
that what I believe in is far greater
than myself a universe not made by people
that churches are made by people
when numbers far outweigh ones’ fear
solace and joy can need to be shared
that I loved you despite everything
© March 2017 Renee Espriu
I have written this poem for Jamie Dedes’s Wed prompt. Please read more at https://jamiededes.com/2017/03/15/once-upon-a-sea-green-day-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt/.
Image Taken From Morgue File & Digitized by Myself
***Omnipresence of Life***
Her omnipresence is felt in the universe
transcending solar systems unknown
past the galaxy of the milky way
glittering within the aurora borealis
she embraces her duality always complex
orchestrating the life cycle
of a caterpillar from cocoon to butterfly
exquisite of design and beauty
she extends her arms as tree branches
taller than redwoods wider than mighty oaks
contained in the tiniest clover flowers
fragrant as fields of wild roses
she gives birth to both male and female
always with her heart and strength
loving with tender passionate acceptance
the uniqueness of all creation
she laughs in playful abandonment
as dolphins and otters of rivers and oceans
dispersed like a whale song balm
so tempers the opium of fear and hate
she is intertwined in fabrics’ existence
stronger than silk of worm or web of spider
will not be broken or manipulated falsely
without her there would be no life
© February 2017 Renee Espriu
Written for Jamie Dedes’ Wednesday prompt at https://jamiededes.com/2017/02/15/eve-wild-in-the-night-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt and Image taken from Morgue File and digizted by myself.
reneejustturtleflight.com 