Daily Canvas


Pink flowers smile as
I leave for work
Birds sing their morning songs

Trees offer a Good Morning
Stately or giggly, depending
on age, mood, and the weather

And then there are
those magnificent clouds

Sometimes they are accents
across the day’s canvas
Other times, they cover
the entire landscape

And me? The traveler
Sometimes weary
Always determined
to notice and wonder

A precise wonder,
thankful to be even the
smallest figure in the
painting that is today

The Poetry Marathon Prompt 2

Write a poem that includes the phrase “precise wonder.”

Simply Sunday

The Poetry Marathon
Prompt 1

Hand in Hand

Shadows danced along
the ground as we
walked hand in hand

A canopy of curved
branches and fluttering
leaves woven overhead

Our steps attempting to
catch tiny moments
of light dancing
with the shadows

A give and take
not to be ignored
Like the give and take
between the two of us

Sisters, friends, not always
in agreement – Yet, willing
to walk hand in hand
under the canopy

Whether light
or shadow
leads our steps

Uncommon Aria

I recognize her song,
though it often changes,
dependent on her journey.

Does she choose her own?
Or does it choose her?

Traversing through
a grove of Aspens, she
sings a melody
gentle and sweet.

Each glistening leaf
adding a note of color.

Coursing over rough rocks
on the shoreline, she
sings a melody bold
and courageous.

Each pulse of the current
increasing her resolve.

Each melody, each path is a journey
of awe and wonder paired with challenges.

Listen. What song does she sing for you today?

Simply Sunday

Bird’s-Eye View

I see you perched
at the highest point
on the top of our roof

What do you see from up there?

I feel jealous of your current
position-The broader, all-
encompassing perspective

Does it lighten your load to see
further into the landscape?

Does it reaffirm that there is
light shining in the darkness?

I choose to believe your answer is Yes!

Pastoral Pink Petunias

“Where flowers bloom so does hope.”
~ Lady Bird Johnson ~


Heads bowed, a quiet
Thank you! for protection
during the stormy night

Now, rain barely falls.
And they nod, barely aware.

Faces turned toward
the afternoon sun-
Their preference-maybe later

Solemn quiet allows space
for a prayerful song

Growing deep from within
where roots, long forgotten,
began to wake due to the

Slow seeping of evening
rain reaching the underground

A renewed purpose-Holding
strong, so the faces above
remember their origins

Reassurance that they will
again turn their faces to the sun

Knowing from their current
posture, future sunlit faces
will accompany grateful hearts

Simply Sunday

Questions

More and more questions
Many answered before
the realization that
They even lived

What should I wear today?
What do I want for lunch?
What time should we leave?

Questions that serve
to move my feet
through the physical

And then there are
those questions that
cause me to pause

Why do I smile when the trees speak to each other?
Why does the smell of sawdust remind me of Dad?
How is it a terrible storm leaves behind such peace?

Questions that simultaneously
freeze and thaw my heart
As I consider the answers

Answers that will undoubtedly
change with age and experience
As long as I continue to ask

Simply Sunday

Thanks again to my friend, Paul Porter, for the amazing pic! https://www.facebook.com/paul.porter.3133719

Advice From a Common Box Turtle

Speed is not a reliable indicator
of a journey’s success
My wanderings take time
Or rather, allow time

Time to stop and
stretch my neck
Feel the sun on my face
Be still, and recharge

Rest my home, that
I may traverse this field
of green, at exactly
the speed required

To meet a new friend-
One who looks like me
Unique, colorful patterns
on their legs and shell

Or one quite different-
Tall and admiring, who
offers me sweet strawberries
As I continue on my journey

Hushed

The progression is slow
A snail trailing from one
side of the sidewalk
to the other

A caterpillar inching
from stem to leaf
Ready to face its
final transformation

A curious smile
growing with the
increasing warmth
of the sunshine

The whole sky
shining clear
and blue
and wide

The unease from
yesterday and the
day before and the
day before that…hushed