Written for Poetics Tuesday: “Beginnings Are Endings”,
hosted by Punam, who has asked us to write a poem,
taking the opening line of a well-known piece and
using it as the last line of our poem. This is my response.
Tag: dVerse Poetics
The Drawer
Written for dVerse MTB: Poems of Questions
hosted by Grace. The challenge is to write a
poem built around questions that remain
unanswered. Here is my response.
Love Is
Written for dVerse Poetics: “The Evolution of Love”,
hosted this week by Sanaa. We are asked to write
a poem about love as something sacred – not just
roses and hearts, but the small unseen ways
someone stays, This is my response.
When The Music’s Over
Written for dVerse Poetics –“I’d Rather Go Blind”
hosted this week by Melissa. The focus is to
choose one of the five senses and write a poem
exploring what life experiences might be like
without that sense. This is my response.
Among The Ripples
Written for dVerse Poetics – “The Smile In A Simile” –
hosted this week by Dora. This is my response.
The Crossing
Written dVerse Poetics –
Dream Interpretations –
hosted this week by Sanaa.
This is an interpretation of my dream.
Done
Written for dVerse Quadrille #237 – Zero.
Our host, Melissa, from Mom With A Blog,
invites us to create a poem of exactly 44 words
using the word “zero”. This is my quadrille.
First Date
Written for dVerse Poetics – It’s Not That Scary.
Mish invites us to celebrate Halloween by writing
a non-scary poem using one of the movie quotes
provided for our first line. I have chosen the line
“Help Me. Help me be human.” from The Fly (1986)
with Jeff Goldblum. Here’s my romantic poem.
Forever Cursed
Written for dVerse Poetics: Hold Onto Your Head!
Today our host Merril invites us to share our version
of the Headless Horseman. This is my contribution.
Autumn Comes
Written for dVerse Poetics: Tripping The
October Light Fantastic. Our host, Dora,
asks us to write about what October
means to us. Here’s my contribution.
Neon Gods
Written for dVerse Poetics: It’s Noisy In Here!
Our host, Mish, is asking us to write a poem
of any style dealing with noise. Here’s mine.
Into The Woods
Written for dVerse Poetics: Let’s Take A Walk
In The Woods, Shall We? Our host Lillian asks us
to write a poem about the woods. This is my poem.
Pops
Written for dVerse Poets Quadrille #228. Our host
Mish asks us – just for the halibut – to write a quadrille
using the word ‘fish’ in any configuration. Recalling
the many stories about my husband and his identical
twin fishing with their Pops, this is my quadrille.
Chiaroscuro
Written for dVerse Poetics: In Other Words.
Our host Melissa Lemay from Mom With A
Blog asks us to dive into the world of color
and detail as we write an ekphrastic poem
inspired by the artwork of Georgia O’Keeffe.
Here is the painting I selected and my poem.
In addition, the words shown in bold are the
artistic terms I chose to include in my poem.
In Golden Light
Written for dVerse Poets: Quadrille #220 –
‘Engrave Your Name Across My Heart’.
We are asked to write a quadrille using
the word ‘engrave’. This is my quad.
Hoots Mon
Written for dVerse Poets – Quadrille #219
A Poetic Hootenanny. Our inspiration this week
is “hoot”. This is my hootenanny quadrille.
Night of the Lepus: A Haibun
Written for dVerse Poets Haibun Monday 3-3-25.
Our inspiration this week is “March Madness”.
This is my haibun.
My Dad’s Lesson: Dectina Refrain
When my father emigrated to the US
from Sicily, he was given advice that
changed his life. With that in mind,
this is my response to dVerse Poetics:
For the Love of the Broadsheet.
I have chosen a Dectina Refrain.
Sightseeing
Written for dVerse Poetics – “Art In Nature”
where the challenge is to write a poem in
response to one of the featured photos.
I have chosen to write a Dectina Refrain
for the photo which appears below.
With Love From Us: A Haibun
Written for dVerse Poetics where the theme is
“Despite and Still”. My inspiration is the poem seen below
written by John N. Morris. Here is my haibun.
In Prescious Moments Of Lucidity: A Haibun
Written for d’Verse Poets where our inspiration
today is “reflection”. Here is my haibun.
His Jealous Mother
Written for dVerse Poets – Quadrille Monday 209 – Plucking Strings
Our host Lisa asks us to include the word “string(s)” in our piece.
This is my free verse poem based on a true story as told by my mother.
My father’s mother hated my mother for marrying her son.
Returning from their honeymoon, my parents visited her mother, then his mother.
When his mother opened the door, she pushed my mother down the stairs, breaking the string of pearls around my mother’s neck.
NAR©2024
44 Words
This is “A String of Pearls” by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra.
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
1968: A Dectina Refrain
Written for dVerse Poetics: Fall (in) Love,
this is my Dectina Refrain.
I
met him
in the fall,
tanned from summer.
He was a bronzed god,
hair as gold as the sun,
eyes like burnished copper glowed.
He warmed the chill from out my bones,
thawed the late Autumn frost in my heart.
I met him in the fall tanned from summer.
NAR©2024
Happy Birthday to my husband Bill. We met in the fall of 1968. 🤎
This is “Bill” from Showboat performed by the Rebecca Trehearn
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Dazed and Confused: An Ovi
Written for dVerse Poets’ theme:
Poetics: Dreaming up a Poem.
This is my Ovi based on a dream.
We were in the car
Hadn’t gone very far
Not a cloud the sky to mar
It was a glorious day
We went to the casino
Hoping to win lots of dough
Trying not our money to blow
The slots were on our side
The sun was bright in the sky
We were happy, spirits high
The road was clear, I could fly
Where should we go for lunch?
Suddenly a huge traffic jam
On my brakes I did slam
Fishtailing, I felt the ram
Some guy hit me really hard
No way could I stop it
Roll roll roll flip into a pit
All we could do was sit
Gravel poured through the cracked sunroof
Police and ambulance appear
Anyone in there? Can you hear?
I’m in shock, feel no fear
We’re rushed to the hospital
I’m ok but my husband’s hurt
There’s so much blood on his shirt
He’s dazed and confused, not alert
God, please let him be ok
Dream ends and I wake up
I reach for my water cup
Heart is racing, thump thump thump
This is a true story
NAR©2024
This ovi poem is based on a horrible rollover accident from 2001 in which my husband and I were involved. The photo above is what was left of my car. I believe in God and I’m sure he was watching over us. It’s been 23 years but I still have dreams of that day.
This is “Dazed and Confused” by Led Zeppelin
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Identical Grief: A Haibun
Written for dVerse Poetics: Picking Up The Pieces
where today we are sharing grief. This is my haibun.
Tomorrow will be 4 months since my husband’s identical twin brother died suddenly. His wife returned home from a walk and found him on the bedroom floor; she said he was still warm. The news felt like an arrow ripped through our hearts. Jim was dead. How was my sister-in-law ever again going to walk into her bedroom without picturing her husband’s body? How was my husband Bill going to face the rest of his life as the lone twin? At one time there were three brothers; now there is only Bill. This is the most difficult trial for him. My husband lost a piece of himself that day. We are numb, disbelieving, questioning, dazed, numb, numb, so unbelievably numb.
You know how people say that time flies? Not when it comes to Jim; time has stopped for us. Logically we know he’s dead but our hearts cannot accept it. It’s unbelievable, inconceivable for us. It doesn’t feel possible. We function normally every day, do the same old crap, talk and eat and laugh. We watch movies, go shopping, pay bills, gab on the phone, babysit. We live the same lives we lived before Jim died except he’s not here to share them and we cannot wrap our heads around that. It just doesn’t feel like he’s dead. He should be here. It’s not right that he’s not here. It’s like someone has played the cruelest joke on us.
Now, when my sister-in-law looks at Bill, it’s Jim’s face she sees. And sometimes when I look at my husband, I see Jim and I find myself pondering why Jim was the twin who was taken.
I am Bill’s wife but Jim was his other half.
save them in your heart
golden summer memories
for when winter comes
No idea who’s who!
NAR©2024
This is “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Look At Yourself: An Ovi
Ronovan has created for us the Ovi Poetry Challenge 51:
our inspiration is the word ‘steps’. Here is my ovi.
as seen at Poetics at dVerse
No time for speculation
Just truthful examination
To reach an evaluation
Which step I will take next
At times my body fails me
I’m an old and twisted tree
And my eyes can plainly see
Limitations in my way
Scans with the neurologist
Jabs from my orthopedist
Prescriptions at the pharmacist
One damn step at a time
When I look inside myself
I see I’m sitting on a shelf
I may need a little help
Sometimes the climb is steep
Keep up with the marching band
Reaching for an outstretched hand
To gently lift me when I land
Stumbling at the bottom step
NAR©2024
This is “Look At Yourself” by Uriah Heep
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Like Spitting Into The Wind
De Jackson, aka WhimsyGizmo at dVerse Poet’s Pub
has asked us to write Poems of Place for Quadrille #201.
This is my submission.
That time I found
myself
in the principal’s office
because
I
screamed
at
the teacher
who tried to put
his hand
up
my
shirt,
then
being assaulted
again
at home
by
my
mother
who accused me
of
“asking for it”.
Neither
place
felt
safe.
NAR©2024
44 Words
This is “Education – Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2” by Pink Floyd
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Blessed
Written for dVerse Poetics – May 7, 2024 –
Pilgrimage, Wandering and Walkabout
Did you ever find yourself in a situation that was so intense, everything around you ceased to exist? It’s an extraordinary feeling, one that’s difficult to explain without using every adverb and adjective and superlative in the English language.
The date was October 5, 1995 – a most inauspicious day – and yet I remember every detail of the events of that evening almost 30 years ago. At the time I was quite active in my church as a choir member, leader of song, and director of the children’s choir. Our adult choir was one of the best in the county and we were selected by Cardinal O’Connor of New York to sing for His Holiness Pope John Paul II during his visit to St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, New York. When the Cardinal requests someone’s services, it is an honor and should be treated as such.
For those of you old enough to remember Pope John Paul II, he was universally beloved and is now Saint John Paul II after his beatification on May 1, 2011. He possessed a spirituality that is rare among men, a divine nature of love, peace, kindness and forgiveness.
On that October day in ‘95, in the evening after vespers, it was arranged for John Paul II to have a walkabout around the grounds of the seminary. It was then that I had the greatest honor of my life .… to meet His Holiness and to receive his blessing. The moment I placed my hand in his and looked into his most serene and forgiving blue eyes, I knew I was in the presence of a divine being. There is no other way to describe how I felt other than to say it was rapturous; I had never felt that way before or since.
I have led a charmed life when it comes to meeting famous people …. just a matter of being in the right place at the right time …. but there is nothing that will ever surpass this encounter.
Time and events have a way of changing our perspective and I am no longer a member of the Catholic Church; however, my break from Catholicism has not and never will change the events of October 5, 1995 nor how I felt that day. It is something that will remain with me until my final days on earth.
NAR©2024
This is Kenny Chesney with “Song For The Saints”
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 