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dVerse prompt to write a palinode
Photography
Devils Lake
Dakotas spoke it as mni wak’an
mni (water)
wak’an (pure source or sacred)
there was no concept of devil
til white man saw it as bad spirit
water that was undrinkable
created mirages like spirits
over the waters
marked it on the map
Devils Lake
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Traveling in North Dakota, I camped at this lake.
My Dog and I
It is bath time for the dog
he looks at me
like he knows the word bath
really it’s a shower
but I call it bath to him
he lets me take him in my arms
and put him in the tub
I spray him with water
rub him vigorously with suds
between the toes (especially between his toes)
and all over
I still remember a time when someone
showered me
dried my skin
and put ringlets in my hair
Burial
Although I am gone I see you there
so nice how you gathered flowers while I
(below in my coffin)
smiled the mortician’s smile
and watched as each of you
placed a rose upon the lid
before I was lowered into the earth
Now I would rather be placed
in a tree pod
my decomposition
feeding a fig tree
(remember the one
on the south side of the house)
you can eat my figs
There is sorrow in that
I would have to die twice
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NaPoWriMo Day 8 — writing from the POV of a dead person. Photo of an ancient burial urn taken at Muséo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi in Syracuse, Sicily
Return
Will men understand the mysterious language of those tears? Pope Pius XII October 17, 1954
I went there
Basilica Santuario Madonna Delle Lacrime
Siracusa, Sicily
Weeping Madonna
In the architecture of a tear
Took a photo
Ignorant of its meaning
Until now
When asked to fill a space with poetry
And now
I want to know the meaning of those tears
Does she weep for His suffering?
Or for the plight of a humanity
Trying to return to God?
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NaPoWriMo Day 4 prompt. I took my own photo of the Basilica Santuario Madonna Delle Lacrime in October 2019, not knowing that it was home of the weeping Madonna.
Rainforest Haiku
rain rustles the fern
licks and twists it into green
subdues fire with wet
trickle of water
soft fur of the forest floor
sharp damp protection
kiss of trillium
white feather-like bud released
star of the lost cloud
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NaPoWriMo Day 3 prompt to create a word list based on Michael McClure’s Personal Universal Deck of 100 words. Create a poem using some of these words.
Marriage
I took his road
dusty
against vibram soles
off trail
in windfall
over scree
hidden lakes
cathedral mountain
base camp
or canyons
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NaPoWriMo prompt on Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken
Sandcastle
low tide welcomes tourists
a fortress of high walls
no windows
please
take a photo
walk the beach
depart
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Day 1 NaGloPoWriMo prompt on thinking outside the box. My photo from St Andrews State Park in Florida of an abandoned sandcastle and wondering what will be the Neo-tourism following pandemic.
Fantasia
Fantasia is Portuguese for costumes. When we put on a costume we enter a fantasy world. Before Halloween, I would bring out the sewing machine and make costumes for my children. One year they were unicorns, a shark and a penguin, Spider-Man, a green dragon (that won a best costume prize), a wizard and an alien. The dog wore a tutu.
Now my children are grownups. I find myself wanting to wear a costume, wanting to enter a fantasy. As soon as I finish writing, I will bring out the sewing machine and go make my fantasia.
let go of myself
find a place where I can dream
a different world
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dVerse haibun prompt on Halloween
Skyline
Blue is the color of the sky
or the water when it runs clean enough
there is a line called the horizon
that when seen from mid ocean
becomes a circle
not 360 degrees of separation
rather a binding look at a whole world
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dVerse quadrille prompt on sky
