Equinox – Prompt Night A Dash of Sunny

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There fell upon this rain-drenched land

A ray of light, a soothing hand

of cheer, of warmth, of hope and light

of future joys, such a delight

to the wind-battered peoples down below

who hid ‘neath coats, who struggled so

through darkened morns, and chill-bound eves

who no longer had the will to believe

in evenings soothed with the orb so rare

who sets lights a-shining in young girls’ hair.


 

This week, A Dash of Sunny invites us to write a poem inspired by Summer. My offering is a little tongue-in-cheek since we have had all types of weather here since Summer officially began. Today, I am bathed in sunshine as I write, but earlier in the day we had short, sharp downpours, interspersed with gloriuus blue skies and thunder as well!

Why not join in and take part? All are welcome and your host is a simply lovely lady!

Yokoburi – dVerse Haibun Monday

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I need windscreen wipers for my glasses and a windproof umbrella. My coat needs sleeves with elasticated cuffs to shield my wrists from the chill deluge. I need shoes that don’t let the water in, that are impervious to the puddles. I need to love the rain. I relax into the squall, lift my eyes to the skies, admire the lowering clouds, see them pregnant and heavy with fat, luscious raindrops, relax my shoulders and smile. My fellow commuters, marching head-down across London Bridge might think me mad if they took a moment to look up from their intense march towards the office, the coffee shop, the cafe, the next bus stop. But if they did take that moment to look around them, perhaps that might mean they were rejoicing in Nature in all her English summer unpredictability too?

Lifting my eyes

to the clouds over sky-line

I become raindrops.


 

This is my first attempt at dVerse Haibun Monday – and how apt! This evening the sky was cloudless as I left London, and it was beautifully warm. This morning – well, it felt like Autumn, with wind, intense rain and to top it all – yep, it was Monday. The haibun does indeed reflect what happened – I realised I was making myself tense and a little bit more than a little bit fed up with fighting the elements, so decided to go with the flow. And believe me, there was a great deal of water swirling in the air and on the pavements!

Thank you to Toni for hosting! I hope my offering is what she is looking for. I’m no expert at haibun, am a little ‘light’ on what a ‘proper’ haibun is like, but I think I’ve gone some way to achieving what has been asked for!

Yokoburi is Japanese for ‘driving rain’. Who knew there were so many words for different types of rain, as Toni kindly shares with us?

Why not join in, or if you don’t feel up to it, at least pop on over and read what others have offered up?

Denied – dVerse Poetics (Halloween version)

This week’s dVerse Poetics has us writing ghostly tales, but with a comedic twist. Such fun! It is very windy here on the coast tonight, and according to the weather forecast, worse is to come tomorrow evening – so my offering has picked up on that, as you will see!

I hope you enjoy it – and please visit dVerse to read all of the other creations!

– Denied –

The winds they howl and moan tonight
They say they’ll bring the folks a fright
Tear down trees and windows break
The gales will keep us all awake

‘Tis Halloween, the ghosts and ghouls
Should roam the earth and steal our souls
But the weather has them beat
And whipped them all from off their feet

They’re wrapped around the chimney stacks
Caught in trees, trapped in shacks
The wind has sucked away their cries
And turned them dumb, to their surprise

They clench their fists and gnash their teeth
Their tortured souls find no release
The one night of the year for fun
Has left our ghastly ghostlies glum

Frustrated in their scary games
They feel let down, a sense of shame
That dawn is almost on their heels
And not a scream has been revealed

From the throats of human prey
The winds have stolen fear away
The storm dies down, the daylight looms
The scary fiends are bathed in gloom

‘Twas Halloween, a terrible night
For ghosts that die to cause a fright
Mother Nature upped her game
The ghouls were silenced – what a shame!