spring – My Corner

Flowers Bring Hope #Poetry #Tuesday Tidbit

Arrow leaf, balsam root

Blanket the hillside

near a pristine lake,

bring hope of spring

soon to come,

an end to brutal winter.

Warm temperatures

around the corner

melt snow, clear ice.

A new beginning

will shortly arrive,

end nature’s tyranny,

but even in June,

snow dots mountaintops,

as winter holds on.

Meanwhile, in the valleys,

spring has arrived

with lupine, hope.

***

The above poem was recently published in The Weekly Avocet. You can click below to hear me read it.

By the way, for those of you who use the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. No matter how you read it, please be sure to review it wherever you can. That goes for all my books. Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe, happy, and healthy.

New! The Red Dress

Front cover contains: young, dark-haired woman in red dress holding flowers

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

***

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A Spring Constitutional #Poetry #Tuesday Tidbit

In the early morning, a cold wind blows.

Weak sunlight from a hazy sky offers little warmth.

Despite the chill, I’m glad to be out walking.

I smell fresh new-mown grass and hear bird songs.

In the park, a workman mows the lawn.

There’s no one else in sight.

I walk by the creek, hear its gentle babble,

the neighing of horses from a nearby veterinary clinic.

I smell their manure.

My white cane rolls from side to side in front of me.

In the late afternoon, I traverse the same path,

relieved to be out in the fresh air.

I hear the cries of children from the nearby playground.

My stomach tells me I’m hungry.

I quicken my pace, eager to reach home.

***

The above was published in the spring issue of The Avocet. Another version of this poem appears in my collection, How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver. You can click below to hear me read it.

A Spring Constitutional

New! The Red Dress

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Spring’s Hopelessness #Poetry

Today’s poem comes from my collection, How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver. My late husband Bill loved to sit outside in the sun. One year, when spring came after a difficult winter, he was anxious to do this but frustrated because it still wasn’t warm enough. That is what inspired me to write this poem. You can read more about Bill and me in My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds, which can be downloaded absolutely free this month from Smashwords. See below for details.

This poem is a haibun. It contains two paragraphs of prose followed by one stanza of haiku. You can click on the title to hear me read it.

Spring’s Hopelessness

Spring comes wet with little sun. Hope is dashed by the wind that buffets the house, rattles wind chimes, rain that drums on the roof. Without enough warmth, grass, flowers, trees, shrubs won’t grow.

He loves the sun, can’t get enough. It’s one of his few pleasures, since he can no longer walk or use his left arm or care for himself. After a brutal winter with endless snow, frigid temperatures, he longs to enjoy the sun’s healing warmth.

wishes for the sun

fall on the deaf ears of God

wait for warmth to come

By the way, for the next month, My Ideal Partner and The Red Dress are available on Smashwords as part of its sale to support those isolated as a result of the coronavirus situation. Please click here to visit my Smashwords author page and download these books. Thank you for stopping by and reading today.

New! The Red Dress

Front cover contains: young, dark-haired woman in red dress holding flowers

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Spring Haiku from Yours Truly

The following haiku were published in the April 6th issue of The Weekly Avocet. You’ll note that each verse can stand alone. I copied them in the order they appear in the magazine. You can click on the Play button below to hear me read them. Enjoy, and happy spring!

***

snowmelt drips from eves
birdsong calls from distant tree
heralds coming spring

sun shines in blue sky
warms the air up to forty
white snow disappears

we wear lighter coats
feel sun on eager faces
spring fever abounds.

My Books

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

That’s Life: New and Selected Poems

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

We Shall Overcome

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A Spring Constitutional (Poetry)

In the early morning, a cold wind blows.

Weak sunlight from a hazy sky offers little warmth.

Despite the chill, I’m glad to be out walking.

I smell fresh new-mown grass, hear bird songs.

In the park, a workman mows the lawn.

No one else is in sight.

I walk by the creek, hear its gentle babble,

neigh of horses from a nearby veterinary clinic,

smell the manure.

My white cane rolls from side to side in front of me.

In the late afternoon, I traverse the same path,

relieved to be out in the fresh air.

Despite the odor of manure,

my stomach tells me I’m hungry.

I quicken my pace, eager to reach home.

***

This poem was published in the April 19th issue of The Weekly Avocet and also appears in How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver. Click below to hear me read it.