Keep Moving

Credit: slhy | Shutterstock.com

The air is petrichor and pine

mixed with the spiciness of new mulch

Birds skitter across leaf litter

looking for seeds

The dogs and I

out for a walk,

basking in first warmth

I want to pluck this moment out of time 

keep it in my pocket

but the dogs pull on their leash,

a gentle reminder to

Keep moving.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, An Old Man's Fancy

Echo House

Welcome to Echo House
The walls are voices
Screams of injustice
Cries of despair
Lost souls comprise
the halls
Come in
Have a bowl of empty
We choke on it every day
We have so much nothing
we are drowning in it
There is always room for more
Stay a while
Bring your shame
your disappointment
your hopelessness
We will nurture them
Leave your dignity
at the door
Should you keep it with you
be warned
The cat will hunt it down
and play with it like a mouse
until she grows bored
and kills it.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Tuesday Platform

Half-Hearted

source

I tried to get you off my mind

You came to me in dreams instead

Awakened with you in my head

Convinced that I was not that kind

I told myself that I'd forget

Despite the years, I haven't yet

Afraid of feelings I might find

Avoided what I knew I knew

As I grew older, they grew too

Too far along to push rewind

A silly crush that wouldn't last

was relegated to the past

I wonder what I left behind

The passion I could never show

The part of me I'll never know.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Play It Again Toads #5, Kerry's Sunday Form Challenge, Constanza

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submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Bits of Inspriation- Spoems in which we are asked to compose a poem from the subject lines from spam

Kiss

source

My very first kiss

I do not recall at all

This makes me wonder:

Is my memory bad or

was it the kiss that was bad?

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Out of Standard, Failed Kisses

Wanna Play?

Toril "Wanna Play"

You beckon

I come

Yes, I know better

and still, I come

You are a thief

a deceiver

You will always hurt me

and still, I come

When you look at me

with those pleading eyes

and that beguiling smile

I can't resist

Time and time again

I come

Trusting your words

more than my own knowledge

Such foolishness!

Still, I come

By the time I see

the glint in your eyes

it is too late

Your alabaster teeth flash and

encircle my neck

like a string of pearls.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Artistic Interpretations with Margaret, Art With Toril

You Are Stronger Than You Know

Toril & Tully Collaboration "Beety Babies" 24 x 36

You are stronger than you know

The rain may drench you to the core,

the winter wind may whisper

that you are not worthy,

the snow and ice may envelope your heart

You are stronger than you know

Beneath your battered form,

your roots grow deep

Reaching for nourishment,

Sustaining you in the drought,

Anchoring you in the flood

so that when the sun shines

you may lean into it and grow

You are stronger than you know.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Artistic Interpretations With Margaret, Art With Toril

Fleeting and Precious

source

Time stops

for a moment, frozen

The bay

hides her secrets under

a cold, varnished lid

Branches of tall oaks

sheathed in shimmer

Pine needles

ensconced in ice

Winter's toothpicks

Dogwood

dripping diamonds

Ephemeral jewels

fleeting and

precious.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Tuesday Platform

Note: I was inspired by the caption to a FB post from Dusty and Vicki Rhoades which read, "Dogwood dripping diamonds"

Kite

source

I am a kite

My bones are weightless

I wear my flesh

like stretched silk

No blood runs

through my veins

Just insert a string

in the empty circle 

of my navel

I will fly

like a ghost

And you, fearless one,

will hear

the howl of the March wind

as it names my pain.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Flash 55 Plus and
The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 201