Baobab World

The world is a baobab

teeming with life and water

without water it shrivels

and dies

[Ibu Batuta an Arab explorer in East Africa saw a baobab and recorded it in his 14th century travelogue

botanist Alpino in 1592 ate the fruit while in Egypt and called it Bahobab from the Arabic buhibab which means many-seeded fruit

French explorer Michal Adanson observed a baobab in 1749 on the island of Sor in Senegal recognized the fruit described by Alpino and called it baobab]

Now the singing tree of superstition is alive

and filled with water

holding perhaps 12,000 gallons

replenishes itself in the rainy season

kuokoa

who stops the rain?

bwana anaokoa

Oh singing tree of superstition

bark taking water in

smooth bark

leaves like a vegetable

everything here for survival

pulp of the seed like candy

ciru

beautiful inside and out

qualities that go forward into the ages

living thousands of years

Oh singing tree

withering prophet

speak for the world

tuokoe

save us

Oh singing tree that gives blessings

and curses

in you there is life

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NaPoWriMo Day 8 “Twenty Little Poetry Projects”

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Let Go

let go

of love

and death—

you think

too much—

when love comes

you will be joyous—

when death comes

you will be ready

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NaPoWriMo Day 6 prompt inspired by Portuguese poet Vasco Graça Moura and his poem a dog for pompeii

Hard Shell

hard shell

reveals a treasure

of many species

off in the distance

a misty presence

waiting to lift

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NaPoWriMo prompt to ask questions based on prescribed words and write a poem from the answers—

What is a quahog?

A hardened shell

What is an oyster?

A holder of treasure

What is seaweed?

A cover for many soecies

What is longing?

A place in the distance

What is elusive?

A misty presence

What is fog?

A curtain waiting to lift

Kilimanjaro

In space in time I sit thousands of feet above the sea May Sarton

There are many who have come to my three peaks. Shira is my easiest at 13,140 feet, Kibo my highest at 19,340 (highest peak in Africa) and Mawenzi at 16,893. It is not a technical climb but rather a feat of endurance and determination. Do not get altitude sickness or you will fail.

Hemingway camped at my feet. His interest was in hunting and taking trophy, not in climbing me. Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller were the first Europeans to my summit in 1889. Yohani Kinyala Lauwo, a native, and declared member of this summit party, did my summit three times before WWI, once without shoes.

On a clear day you can see my snows from miles away. Come and see my mountain of whiteness. Come and strive for my highest summit Uhuru Peak, Freedom Peak in Kiswahili.

____________________

dVerse prompt to use May Sarton quote in flash fiction. This is flash historical fiction with Kilimanjaro speaking.

She

There is something about a Queen

that a king will never be

with gowns and jeweled crowns

sovereign tranquility in she

monach of dependability

regal and stern

in one last jubilee

now the son and grandson heirs

find solace in their grief

and pants

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dVerse prompt to write an aphorism. Not sure if I did or not.

The Fig Tree

In Sunday School I learned about the big red apple of original sin in the garden. How Adam and Eve ate thereof. Caste out. Ashamed. Hid from God. What I didn’t learn— it was really a fig. They ate a few. Clothed themselves in fig leaf. Hid from God. Caste out. Separated from God. How Jesus went to the fig tree for food and finding none, he said, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” Explanation mark. A curse that lifted a curse. And the tree withered and died.

Jesus new Adam

the sin of man forgiven

reunite with God

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NaPoWriMo Day 29 prompt on curses.

Julia’s Kiss

Julia’s kiss was soft and sweet

creamy colored

pale yet held up the sky

Judas’s kiss was forever wrought

with greed

betrayal and impending death

_______________

dVerse prompt to write a poem based on the name of a rose.

Christ’s Entry

I can’t really say I loved him. Love does not come easy for me. He was my first kiss, a little bit of making out, kind words from his thin lips.

I went on to guard the pool, to save a life, my tanned olive skin a beacon for men. Then one day a man walked through the gate and I watched his choppy strokes across the water and married him.

We vowed to love art. To make art out of our lives. We traveled both locally and abroad but that huge painting on the Getty wall stays with me— Christ’s Entry into Brussels in 1889 by James Ensor.

When will He come?

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NaPoWriMo Day 21 prompt— a person forgotten, a job taken, a memorable piece of art, an unanswerable question

https://smarthistory.org/ensor-christs-entry/

Chalk Downs

Chalk hills

exposed—

Salisbury Plains

Where downs meet sea—

White Cliffs

of Dover

I travel north—

Yorkshire Wolds

west to the River Nidd

Pateley Bridge

Summerbridge

Glasshouses

Hampsthwaite

where old Mr Wainwright

showed me the plaque

of William Makepeace Thackeray

who was burned at the stake

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dVerse prompt to write a quadrille using the word chalk.

Palm Sunday

Look at a man riding the donkey

Go with him saying Hosanna

He is the one waited for

Spread the palms at His feet

He has come to save

Sing songs of joy

Praise His name

He is

Lord

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NaPoWriMo prompt Day 9 to write a nonet. This is based on Zechariah 9:9.