In response to Rick Daddario’s 30 DOH/Days of Haiga. My photo below digitally
altered.
The Heat of August Nights
The longing for warmer weather and sunny days
falls somewhere between Winter rain
and Spring flowers beginning to petal
but it all has given way to a heat so heavy
that it settles upon her August nights
as though weighted a substantial burden
it permeates every living thing and even
insects take refuge long for cooling air
causing the synergy of habitats once again
for the fine line between longing and needing
takes her back to the petals of flowers and green
days with a cool breeze a paramour of the sun
© August 2017 Renee Espriu
This is in response to Jamie Dede’s Wednesday Prompt at https://jamiededes.com/2017/08/02/hot-august-nights-and-wednesday-writing-pompt where you can read more from other poets. The photo below was taken from Morgue File & digitally altered by myself.
A Capricious Magician
Unpredictable
in ‘nature’ is she
dropping hints
with sun rays
peaking out
between
clouds
apparitions held
as fading shadows
become
cloudy
mirrors
and the next moment
a downpour of
rain filling gutters
a deluge
down
drain
spouts
a disappearing act
slight of hand
the earth drying
cracks in
hardened
clay
a capricious magician
prone to laughter
a comic relief
dancing
across a stage
of her own
making
© July 2017 Renee Espriu
This is in response to Jamie Dede’s Wednesday Prompt. Read more at https://jamiededes.com/2017/07/25/orange-fires-at-daybreak-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt. The photo below was taken from the Morgue File and digitally altered by myself.
***Flight of A Fashion***
She traveled north
with her husband she chose
based on society’s mores
his decision accepted based
on her need to fly
trading asphalt and concrete
for a similar landscape
peppered with evergreens
leaving behind her self
melting in the heat of day
preparing for a rain cleansing
her of tainted memories
she traded her self-identity
with the prospect of years
rearing children alone
in unfamiliar landscape
needing to fly
always tethered & wings clipped
by a ritual of custom
her wings a rainbow
coloring her inside and out
brightened by the sun
dampened by the rain
her self conflicted interests
birds fly home to roost and nest
innate to their very being
so each time she returned to
her place of birth she
fell into memories
coming to know her colored feathers
of self would always remain
inside no matter
the need to fly
© April 2017 Renee Espriu
This is in response to Jamie Dedes’s Wednesday prompt at https://jamiededes.com/2017/04/19/the-same-old-self-delusions-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt/comment-page-1/. The photo below is taken from the Morgue file and digitized by myself.
***Another Lifetime***
it is winter now and raining
as it rarely did then
another lifetime…do you recall
a warm glow to your skin
as you stood amidst glittering sand
receiving the ocean’s salty mist
a warm wind carving waves
the rain reminds me as a child when
swimming past rolling waves
to a calm ocean to hold my raft
and even the depth beneath me
held no fear
i seemed to drift as it were
past people i did not know as
playing amongst the salty brine
they seemed to fade away
and i remained
it is winter now and raining
as it rarely did then
another lifetime…do you recall
© October 2016 Renee Espriu
Image Taken From Morgue File & Digitized by Myself
***Dance of Fall***
The leaves pirouette
slowly dancing
their way to earth
as they are
caught up one
atop the other
in rainwater puddles
once devoid of color
now laughing as
golds, reds,
yellows, oranges
make of them
a floating canvas
of nature’s art
Image Taken From Morgue File & Digitized by Myself
© October 2016
Renee Espriu
*COUNTING LIFE IN TOMORROWS*
No longer do I count life in years holding dreams
of newness of a younger love when each day
spilled over in the smell of scented flowers
when the air after the rain fell spoke
of clean, sweet beginnings and new meanings
I now count life in tomorrows obliged of sun
with nights counting blankets of stars
where they meet at dawn and part company
knowing there cannot be one without another
No, I no longer count life in years that promise
with the energy of youth who cannot wait for
hours nor even minutes as they peer at clocks
eager anticipation of the next moment
and the next and the next never knowing
That the time comes when tomorrows will become
as cocoons breaking open to free butterflies
the warmth of the sun as welcome as the rain
and the night a time of dreamt memories
Now I count life in every tomorrow promising
that there is another day in sun or rain
with nights in the company of radiant stars
with hope in becoming as butterflies
regaling in the nectar of scented flowers
© July 2016
Renee Espriu
Image Taken From The Morgue File & Digitized by Myself
****NEW LIFE WAITING****
The rain comes down
amassing large drops
from the leafy trees
branches an umbrella
above me hovering
The rain comes trailing
rivulets against asphalt
like black swirling
satin ribbons rushing
forth in the darkness
The tree frogs sing
their frog song chorus
penetrating the night
slicing through like
hot candle wax flowing
The rain comes still
as the tree frog sings
as we wait for another
generation to arrive
another life in the world
© October 2015
Renee Espriu
Image Taken From Morgue File
***THE LOST LOOKING-GLASS***
the mistress looks in vain
for the lost looking-glass
the raindrops sounding
like a musical note chorus
water pooling left by the rain
mirrored images reflecting
the lights, the buildings,
of people passing & looking
a girl sees images in the pooling rain
takes it for a looking-glass
studies her reflection there
bewildered but on she passes
the looking-glass rain pooling
images distorted & broken
glisten like shards of glass
as raindrop words are spoken
the mistress looks in vain
for the lost looking-glass
the raindrops still sounding
like a musical note chorus
© December 2014
Renee Espriu
Image Taken From Morgue File
******Dissolving Pearls******
adrift on the tide of time
ebbing and receding quickly now
dissolving pearls seen
as minutes of time
becoming particles of sand
an hourglass known
to be tailored to each one
recognition briefly still here
the brightness of a smile
a twinkle in the eye
checking memories each one
to know they do remain
a lucky penny catches the eye
it is quickly snatched up
deposited in a pocket
a mockingbird song entertains
sun up to sun down
each note a suggestion…
of something
the sadness finally dissipated
as a rain now a fine mist
settling but only briefly
the sun always bringing
a warmth to the soul
a new day beginning
looking around for the familiar
knowing it is there
just beneath a hazy morning
burning off in the heat of day
where all is now clear
the years only an illusion
and youth just beginning
© June 2014 Renee Espriu
Visiting dad always has the variable of “what if” involved. Now at 90 plus years of age and due to mild to moderate dementia, dad has good days and not so good, and through it all he still perseveres and manages to get through every day no matter what.
Image Taken From Morgue File
reneejustturtleflight.com 