This haiga appeared on Daily Haiga on March 23, 2016. I would like to thank my dear friend, Sheppy Vann, for allowing me to use her beautiful photograph for this piece.
Here is the link to the original: http://www.dailyhaiga.org/haiga-archives/1805/-fall-s-footrpints-by-mary-kendall-usa
Another joy and honor this week–my first time having haiku appear in Brass Bell, a publication that is edited by the incomparable Zee Zehava. This issue was done with International Women’s Day (on March 8) in mind. In the editor’s own words:
I urge you to visit Brass Bell (also here on WordPress) and subscribe to it. Be sure to read the back issues for some excellent poetry.
My three haiku in this issue are below:
If you have a favorite, please do let me know. I’m always curious what readers think or respond to.
Photograph (c) 2010 by Patti Chronert
Another Love Poem…
If you’d like to hear me read this poem, please click on the link below. Wait a few seconds for it to load. I hope you enjoy both listening and reading this love poem.
Another Love Poem…
~ To my husband and partner of forty years ~
We walked along in the Tuileries
alone among the chestnut trees,
morning sky of crisp pale gold
so many paths we have strolled,
and still we wander, just us two,
my heart never very far from you.
We stop to sit and watch the birds
green park chairs, unspoken words,
plain sparrows chirp, so unadorned
no beauty lost, no beauty mourned.
Simple thoughts are often most true—
no man was ever loved more than you.
Heart Stone by Mary Kendall
I’ve added a new page to this blog: POEMS RECENTLY PUBLISHED
It is part of the main menu of my blog. I will update it as I publish poems. Here is a link as well:
but the simplest thing is to go right to the top of the blog and click on the new page!
I hope this will let readers find what they are looking for. A number of people have privately asked me what and where I’ve been publishing work. This new page answers the question. One note: if a main entry to a piece isn’t in the main part of my blog, I will always add the poem on this separate page.
Questions? Just ask!
THE DECORAH EAGLES…JOIN THE FAN CLUB!
The eagles landed some time ago and have carefully rebuilt and replenished their nest. I am referring to the now famous Deborah Eagles out in Iowa. For several years now, I’ve been one of their fans watching the live camera feed. The first egg has been laid, and the camera is showing mom sitting on it as the wild winds blow past here high up in a cottonwood tree.
The first egg was laid a day ago. It will hatch in 35-39 days if all goes well.
Watch it, if you dare. You just might get hooked on this fascinating bit of eavesdropping.
Raptor Resource Project Decorah Eagle Cam, Decorah, IA
***LIVE CAMERA LINK: http://www.raptorresource.org/falcon_cams/decorah_eagle_xcel.html
And Then It Flew
Older by only days, the first-born eagle
Was the first to branch, the first to fly~
Young eyes studying the world beyond the tree,
It now stood on a limb, lifting its wings over
And over, learning how to battle erratic gusts,
Learning how to channel the waiting wind,
Understanding now what it would be like to fly.
Again and again, those powerful wings fluttered,
Starting and stopping, gaining strength and nerve,
Gathering courage for that first awkward jump
Until one morning it lifted off the branch and flew,
Joining its parents in capturing the wind, trusting
That once it had made that leap, it too would fly.
His first flight.
This love poem was written for my husband. We met in 1974, forty years ago. It really does seem like last year. Growing older together has been a gift to both of us. We have shared so much and grown so much. Love is the one constant in the equation we call life.
This poem is dedicated to my beloved husband and to all who have loved and been loved.
The link below will give you the option of hearing me read the poem. Click on it if you wish to listen. (It takes a few seconds to begin.)
On Growing Old Together
Will you scatter me over water
or throw me to the winds,
letting me float away?
Will your ashes mingle
with mine one day
when you too are gone?
Ashes to ashes…
Will you take my hand again
and hold me close against the wind?
Will your eyes always smile with mine?
Dust to dust…
Will our hearts travel as one
no matter where that might be?
Will our love be forever?
Ashes to ashes, Soul to Soul.
Two Hearts Beat as One by Alexandru 1988
A Poet in Time 