Category: Happiness

Cicada Serenade

Cicada Serenade

sticky, sultry evenings of late summer
droplets of sweat mingling in body crevices
an open door offering no relief
as the air hung heavy from weighted clouds
the only sound, that of whirring fans
and the serenading of cicadas
as they make love
before singing themselves to death


Copyright © 2023 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved


Lillian is hosting Open Link Night at D'Verse Poets

Sweet Pearl

Sweet Pearl

Oh you sweet little thing
I see you so seldom
You are neither the workhorse 
Nor a common or garden variety 
Instead you are petite
Delicate and sweet
You are pretty to see
and are incapable
of bringing tears
to my eyes
When i need something special
I look for you
to accompany me 
and grace my glass
with your delectable presence
My sweet pearl onion


Copyright © 2023 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved


We have a guest host at D'Verse tonight, Melissa Lemay from the blog of the same name.  She is a fellow poet from Lancaster County, PA.  She has prompted us tonight with the word Onion.

There have been many poems written about onions, but there is one in particular I know better than others. It is Ode to the Onion by Pablo Neruda.  I love his poetry and how he views the onion.  I used it as inspiration for my poem, Sweet Pearl.

Candied Peel – A Quadrille

Candied Peel

Nonchalant girl
hair twirling
around fingers
Twitching like a fly swat
A mustache held in place
Under nose
With pouted lips
She rolled hair in little buds
Tightly across her crown
Onlookers amused
Boredom leaves
and hair is now the texture
of candied peel


Copyright © 2022 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved


Mish is hosting Monday Quadrille at D'Verse Poets.  Our prompt tonight
is 'Candy' however we would like to use it.  A quadrille is a poem 
of exactly 44 words excluding the title.

Summer Playground – An Ekphrastic Poem

Summer Playground

Gentle waves lap the shore
in late afternoon sunshine
Seagulls squabble in sand
squawking displeasure
A chocolate dog patient, disciplined
sits quietly by her owner
Paying the noisy birds no attention
Concentrating on the water’s movement
Her summer playground is
reflecting the sun’s orange glow
Waiting for the signal she knows will come
And it does, right on cue
One word is all that is needed
and sheer joy explodes in
showers of salty spray


Copyright © 2022 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved

Merril is hosting D'Verse Poets tonight and has asked us to write
a summer ekphrastic poem using one of the paintings she chose as
our inspiration.  I chose the one by Peder Severin Krøyer,
Summer Evening at Skagen. The Artist’s Wife and Dog by the Shore

Eyes

Eyes

Eyes, the windows to the soul
Pools of turquoise sea I swim
in calming waters sometimes
drifting in delightful fantasy 

They could look at me lovingly
or pierce with pain from anger
Cry a river of tears or
close in sleep of contentment

I imagine them with X-ray vision
Looking straight into my heart
Knowing what made it beat so fast
Seeing into my mind, reading my thoughts

Eyes cast on new life for the first time
Celebrating moments of joy
with human camera lens capturing
memories never to be forgotten


Copyright © 2021 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved

Word Prompts

Eyes (Body Part) - Stream of Consciousness
Celebrate - RDP
X-Ray - FOWC
Forgetful - Word of the Day

Summer Sentiments

Summer Sentiments

In the summertime
when days are long
and the heat lingers
into the night
Memories are made
and captured
like fireflies in a jar
Fascinating, full of wonder
Replaying moments
over and over
and holding on tight
so not one may escape
Until that bittersweet moment
when you must release 
and set them free


Copyright © 2021 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved

Lillian is hosting D’Verse Poets tonight and has
Sent us back in time.  She asked us to find a song that was a hit on our birthday at any time in the past.  We used a website called http://mybirthdayhits.com/ It was a fun thing to look up.  On one of my birthdays, the song “In the Summertime” by Mungo Jerry was #1 for seven weeks.  Whenever I hear it I immediately smile.  It brings back many memories for me.  I have included it below.  I hope you enjoy too.

Word prompts 

Escape - RDP
Bittersweet - Word if the Day

Under The Moonlit Sky

Under The Moonlit Sky

Dance with me
Under the moonlit sky
Hold me tightly 
while we spin in circles 
and my heart flies high
 
Dance with me
under the moonlit sky
Around and around
your arms hold me
as you gaze in my eyes
 
Dance with me
under the moonlit sky
free in motion
like a flowing tide
of teardrops to cry 
 
Dance with me
under the moonlit sky
The essence of night
lingers in this moment 
making me sigh
 
Dance with me
under the moonlit sky
The music must go on
for I am not ready
to say goodbye
 
 
Copyright © 2021 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved

Bjorn is hosting D'Verse Poets tonight and has prompted us with The Waltz
and is looking for a light-hearted rhythm of the words.

Still Talking

Still Talking

He is still talking ...
 
I listened intently for as long as I could
but felt my mind wandering
to a faraway place where all I could hear
was the gentle lapping of waves
against a sandy shores

A warm breeze rustled the sea grasses
as I studied my toes buried deep
in the cool soft powdered beach
I watched sandpipers toying with the water
Running out and running in, never to get wet

I picked up treasure of bleached-out shells
Waiting in their emptiness to be collected 
and transported elsewhere and stored
in a box with a lid closed tight
Never to see the sun again until needed
for a memory check of what once was

I followed footprints along the beach
Watching the tide reclaim them effortlessly
The colors began to change in the late afternoon
and there is an orange glow the color of marmalade
A seagull shrieks loudly
and I am startled from my peaceful sojourn
It is then I realize ...
 
He is still talking 
 
 
Copyright © 2021 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved

Peter Frank is hosting D'Verse Poets, Meet at the Bar tonight.
He has prompted us with 'Circular poetry'.  We have the option to
write a Pantoum or Villanelle which are circular poems with
repetition, or to write a poem showing something coming
full circle




Photo by Saksham Gangwar on Unsplash
 
 

All Things Nice – Small Flies and Other Wings

All Things Nice

Soft and delicate
fragile petals of a sweet pea
clinging to its stem
fluttering in a summer breeze
Butterfly wings and baby’s breath
swept together in a glorious
collection of pinkness
Feminine and pretty in rosy hues
of scarlet and crimson
with splashes of Tyrian purple
Fluttering feathers
Plucked plumage 
all to be treasured
by the possessor
For these are the simple
pleasures that bring happiness 
 
 
Copyright © 2021 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved

Laura Bloomsbury is hosting D'Verse Poets tonight and
has prompted us with writing about an abstract piece of art.
I was inspired by "Small Flies and Other Wings" by Christine Ay Tjoe.

A Painter Without a Brush’ (Gerhard Richter)
Broadway Boogie Woogie (Piet Mondrian))
Convergence (Jackson Pollock)
Movement in Squares (Bridget Riley)
Small Flies and Other Wings (Christine Ay Tjoe,)
Choose ONE title ONLY and write a painterly poem – in other words,

paint us a picture that you imagine fits the title.
Suggestions: Write as artist or observer of an abstract, surrealism or realism. Include texture and colour & engage with the visuals in mood.

OR

Choose ONE of the titles above and simply write an ekphrastic poem. Here are the links to the actual works of art
Gerhard Richter : Piet Mondrian : Jackson Pollock : Bridget Riley : Christine Ay Tjoe

I chose Small Flies and Other Wings (Christine Ay Tjoe,

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