Monday, February 20, 2017

Thunderbird & Morning Dove -- tandem poems by Maricris Cabrera & David Palmer

+maricris cabrera and I set a personal challenge to each other this evening to write verse in response to this photo of the sunset at my Daughter's home in Maple Valley, Washington.  I said the lighted clouds looked like a Thunderbird, Maricris said it looked like the Morning Dove.  We agreed to write tandem verse in our own personal photo prompt.

The Menominee Native American tribes of Northern Wisconsin have the legend of the Thunderbird which I relate in this verse.  The Thunderbird are the gift of the Sun to this world in the ongoing struggle of good vs. evil. The thunderbirds live on a floating mountain far to the West and keep watch over a world plagued by dark forces represented by the great horned serpents known as the Mishikinubik. When they do battle and drive those serpents which represent chaos and death, back to the underworld, then we hear the thunder and see lightning as those vanquished lifeless serpents are cast down to the ground by the victorious Thunderbirds. That sacred myth is what I based this Sonnet on.

Thunderbird (Sonnet #370)

On a floating mountain far to the West
In the eyrie provided by the Sun
Dwell the great guardians of life’s run
Distrusted, feared, o’erlook’d, e’en by the best
Defenders of earth’s life, right from their nest
Watchful are they ensconced on their perch
For the great horned serpents always do search
Conspire toward chaos, destroying rest
When battle rages, don’t we all know it?
Flashes of fire and clap of broad wings
Talons and beak pierce scales like a rivet
Coils in death throws, yet fang-poison brings
Slice open the chaos, talons pivot
Life streams abundant, free from serpent’s stings.

© 2017 David W. Palmer
Photo Credit: 2017 David W. Palmer


Morning Dove

What will his future hold, this Morning Dove
Where does his Sweetheart, go for so long
His wings gracefully unfolds, one sweet song
Cooing a tune for his endless true love.
Sunlight beckoning his nostalgic flight
Forlorn, enslaved their hearts never be free
Soaring high and down below perch on the tree
Feathers exposed against beauty in sight.
Only to find out, his search to an end
Keeping his eyes and heart to rescue her
Dying, she couldn't, pecked her white collar
Black eyes, ebony slender beak attend
Love and passion promised long time ago
Protection, warm embrace until the end.

(C) 2017 Maricris Cabrera

Sunday, February 19, 2017

For Graham Eads, In Memory (Sonnet #368)

In sad, but fond memories of my Facebook Friend, Graham Eads who's sojourn amongst us sadly passed last Tuesday, February 14.  To Evie and Heather and the family, my sorrow for your loss and prayers for healing memories of him be yours in abundance.  Please accept this humble verse in tribute to the great man he yet is.  We will ne'er forget you, Graham.

For Graham Eads, in Memory (Sonnet #368)
A Byron Sonnet

Let the pipes be played, the colors fold
That Scotland may weep the loss of her son
For now we pause to reflect his race won
We in life’s shadows share stories he told
History proud lived on in his brogue
And gaps in my knowledge of sweet heritage
Were fill’d with delight through his tutelage
Through him did I cherish my nascent blood home
Now across Highland moors his spirit strolls
With Wallace and Knox and best of the fray
We’ll see him in Spring through heather’s sweet fold
Encounter his guard in castle keep ways
Sense breath on our souls ‘midst Aberdeen’s cold
And witness his power in storms o’er Moray.

©2017 David W. Palmer
19-February, 2017
Covington, Washington

Bemuse (Poetry of Maricris Cabrera, shared with Permission)

I am privileged to share once more the beautiful poetry of Maricris Cabrera, my dearest friend. She writes as one who is intimately acquainted with beauty and writes that we may understand it better. I share with her permission, of course.

Bemuse


Struggling into
the unfathomable
ocean of my mind
through the violent waves
of my imagination
in a quest for my beloved
Muse, drifting down
the current holding on
with my diction as my float
I see the Muse far away from me
guarded with heavy
accents and  stresses
and pronunciations.
I stumbled against
a rock of rhyme
Bemused,
I whispered a prayer
and found myself lying
on the shore of poetry
and then I opened my eyes
I see my beloved Muse
looking down at me.

(C) 2017 Maricris Cabrera

Bemuse (A Fibonacci Sequence)

Written originally for Maricris Cabrera in the Words Community

bemuse

love
has
many
faceted
faces it presents;
like a diamond, poets say;
but sometimes, I find it to be a kaleidoscope
with refractions and patterns just to bemuse me, so I reach softly for your hand, Dear!

©2017 David W. Palmer 

Irresistible (Sonnet #367)

Irresistible (Sonnet #367)

What do the sages mean when they describe
Life-long growing love? Does it grow deep roots
That reach the bedrock of the soul? The truth?
Those roots reach and break obstacles in time.
Stone may scoff at water, granite at the wind
But no more irresistible than these
The mighty Colorado Canyon form'd
Stone cannot hinder that which must break through
E'en so, we know the truth that love like ours
Tender soft is fierce opening our path
No matter what forbids us forward go
Impossible, that first false lie cowers
Mighty is the course of love, desire
Kisses truth, as we shall be inspired

© 2017 David W. Palmer

Thoughtful Gifts (Sonnet 366)

Thoughtful Gifts (Sonnet 366)

Remember growing up, having secret
Wishes for your birthday or for Christmas?
There was always something special, wishes
Told to no one but fervently hoped for
Somehow, tonight, I know there is that one
True gift you long for me to bless you with
And that one priceless treasure is to know
That I am always proud of you daily
I stand in awe to know that in your hands
Language soars on angel's wings exalting
Life not as it is but how it can be
If by our hearts we live and breathe and love.
The truth I see confirmd in ev'ry line
Is in you, great poetry lives for me.

© 2017 David W. Palmer

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Te Quiero (I Love You) Resharing the Poetry of Maricris Cabrera

Maricris Cabrera has been a colleague and best friend in several Poetry communities. I am proud to share her poem, "Te Quiero" with her permission.  We both wrote our poems of the same name tonight in response to a word challenge in the WORDS Community.

Te quiero

Words which we have said
and what we are about to say
love is but one language
spoken by our hearts
we love each other like
how the sunlight cuddles the earth
how the river meets the sea
let there be no oceans between us
just you and me.
Te quiero muchisimo
I love you very much.

(C)2017 Maricris Cabrera

Te Quiero -- I Love You (Free Verse in Español and English

Quiero amarte como mereces ser amado
No sólo con palabras fáciles y promesas vacías
Pero a través de acciones y compromisos, fuertes y decisivos
Que usted puede saber cuando se le pregunta
¿Cómo sabes que él realmente te ama?
Que su respuesta siempre sea: "Él la vive todos los días".
Te quiero, mi Amistad, mi amor, Mi amor de toda la vida

I want to love you as you deserve to be loved
Not with easy words and empty promises
But through actions and commitments, strong and decisive
That you may know when you are asked,
"How do you know that he truly loves you?"
May your answer always be, "He lives it every day."
I love you, my soul friend, my love, my life-long love.

(C) 2017 David W. Palmer

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Molto Bene (Sonnet 363) "Very Well"

MOLTO BENE (Sonnet #363)
By David Palmer

I must have been crazy in love to rent
That Fiat Spider for a seaside drive
To Naples on twisting cliffs there to thrive.
The Amalfi Coast, so picturesque, sent
Shivers down my spine as each turn did vent
My joy: a man, his car, and sunshine, too
The road, the sea, villages, and me, blue
Waves to the horizon, so heaven sent.
I stopped for pasta where cliff and road
Met air, with tiny outdoor dining. She,
Dark beauty, waited on me, and strove
Through language barrier to reach and please
My heart could melt, her beauty did bestow
Grace. She kiss’d me, “MOLTO BENE,” and squeez’d.

©2017 David W. Palmer



Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Jeanne d'Arc (Sonnet 362)

Written first for Tina G in the WORDS Community for the Word of the Day: VIRAGO

Jeanne d’Arc (Sonnet 362)
By David Palmer

A simple girl from Domrémy alone
Was destined not to be forgotten
Heaven’s higher calling chang’d her lot in
Life once she conversed with saints, fell prone.
What can one girl accomplish when she’s thrown
Into the midst of conflict, hist’ry’s sweep,
Beyond one solitary life’s short keep?
Michael, Margaret, Catherine intone
Rise up Maid, heaven trusts you, save the Realm
And bring to France victory at Orleans
Prince Charles felt her strength, gave her the helm
Though just a wisp, with God, her wisdom keen
Betray’d at Compiègne and burn’d o’er elm
She’s virago, mighty Saint, at nineteen.

© 2017 David W. Palmer
All intellectual property rights retained by the author

Baby Girl 2017 (A Fibonacci Sequence)

Baby Girl 2017

Born
with
beauty,
grace, talents;
open should she find
a world ready to welcome her;
but isn’t it more the luck of the draw where she’s born?
She could be a societal mover and shaker, or a neglected ornament
gathering dust in the corner by the hearth. Let her not be kept silent anymore;
let her worth be judged, not by her gender, but her
skill, craftsmanship, ability;
opportunity –
open the 
door wide
to
her    

©2017 David W. Palmer
All intellectual property rights retained by the author

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Blatherskite (Sonnet #361)

Blatherskite (Sonnet #361)
By David Palmer
14-February, 2017
Renton, Washington

Absolutely amazed am I at
The volume of verbiage proceeding
From your tongue. And here, I thought truth be found
In the paucity of words, well chosen
Rather than this surfeit of synonyms
And fancy catch-phrases where we do come
To bury the truth in fancy pants lies,
This blatherskite fills hours with nothing.
Truth, walking softly in silver slippers,
Slides seductively into our souls through
The key of a wordsmith’s well turned phrase
Which captures imagination, making
Us rethink old preconceived notions
To embrace overlook’d gems waiting there.

© 2017 David W. Palmer

Adoration (Acrostic) Sonnet #360

ADORATION (ACROSTIC) [Sonnet #360]
By David Palmer

Absolute devotion this captured
Delighted soul offers, mesmerized
On every opportunity to gaze
Rewarded at your beauty, and wonder
Always, how you chose my trembling heart
To be the focus of your affection.
In as much as you believe in me, so
Onward do I endeavor to live up,
Never failing to become whom you know
So well, I may and ought to be for you.
Welcome to my soul and see rooms so
Eager to embrace you, reigning Monarch
Everlasting, I surrender, ev’ry
Thing I am, and ever hope to be.

© 2017 David W. Palmer

Billet Doux (Love Letter) (Sonnet #359)

BILLET DOUX

Sweet maiden of Bordeaux, lovely as
Precious, priceless wine, how your face haunts me
In cellars of my soul.  Out among vines
We met while picking master’s grapes. I ask’d
“Have you tasted them sun-warm’d in fields
Of love’s delight?” “Oh, no we musn’t,” did
You protest, ‘til I popp’d one in your mouth.
“You’re wicked,” you said, and slapp’d me, yet pleas’d.
How many times did we make love in hay
Lofts soft and secure? I was call’d away
And how you cried and said you’d wait for me
How I have wish’d these many nights at sea
That you were here and we in love should be
Receive this billet doux my heart’s long cry

© 2017 David Palmer

Arrow

my
heart 
became 
the target
of Cupid’s barbed
arrows; how sweetly intimate
this exquisite pain becomes centered in my breast
a living agony; but such is love’s cost – ‘tis never caught ‘til you embrace its pain;
for none come out unscathed, nor unchanged; clay becomes not art until pummeled
worked over beyond reason, no longer common
mud, but now ceramic beauty;
now, my friend, embrace
your wounding
branding    
hot
kiss

© 2017 David W. Palmer

Cupid's Boredom (Sonnet #357)

Cupid’s Boredom (Sonnet #357)
By David Palmer
13-February, 2017
Maple Valley, Washington

The god of love was out of sorts, mischief
In very short supply: “Shooting arrows
Into bumbling, fickle, inconstant hearts
Depresses me greatly! Where have the great
Lover’s gone? Cleopatra, Antony?
Bogie and Bacall? Tracy and Hepburn?
Who loves today with imagination
Skill and verve? Who yet woos their lover’s soul
With more than greeting cards and chocolate?”
But then, when hope seemed all but play’d out
And ready was he to smash his bow down
Upon the ground, he spotted you and me.
“Great lovers walk this earth once more,” cried he,
“These find the way to convey love in verse.”

©2017 David W. Palmer
Poem Only

Valentine 3 (Sonnet #358)

Valentine 3 (Sonnet #358)

Let my words live to touch your tender soul.
Can I e’en say I was alive before
Our lips did kiss or eyes behold the store
Beauty reserves within your heart’s sweet folds?
I never knew such trusting love; pure gold
Holds no value even close to the worth
We know when hearts speak without words, new birth
New hope, new life, new joy, highlights in bold.
We sens’d the very moment that we met
Life would not go on unchanged, we chose
Embracing bonds be eternally set,
And long parch’d earth devoid of life arose
In flooding renaissance, sweet rivulets;
Today, our deserts blossom as the rose.

© 2017 David W. Palmer

Monday, February 13, 2017

Vivacious for WORDS Community

Full of spunk and life, light of the party
Late into the evening when lesser lights
Have long grown dim, or burned out.
She's always "ON," and cannot merely
Shake your hand, but prove to you she
Thinks you to be the most important contact
She has ever made in her entire life.
Vivacious does not begin to describe
Her manic energy which as yet, we have
Failed to tap to its fullest potential.
Pity the husband who will try his best
To keep up with her "honey-do" list.

(C) 2017 David W Palmer

Happy Birthday to My Friend Nasreen Malik

To Nasreen, On Her Birthday, February 13, 2017

Keep the joy down in your heart, but
Let it out for exercise that
We who need to see it may take
Courage in these changing times.
Your friendship is a treasure which
I joy to rediscover daily
As I walk African paths with you
Or laugh at the foibles and absurdities
Life throws our way from time to time.
Blessed be the day we danced that virtual dance
And learned the joy of friendship shared in verse
Upon these stony paths we're set to cross.

©2017 David W. Palmer
Renton, Washington, USA

Inveigle (Meet My Granddaughter)

Meet my granddaughter, mistress negotiator
To whom "no" is not prohibitive, just the opening
Gambit to strategic negotiations. When, where, why
How and what she desires she is willing to beguile,
Knowing your weak points and using them against you
To inveigle exactly what she wants.  Perhaps, one day
She will graduate top in her class, and become a lawyer.

(C) 2017 David W. Palmer

Quisling

Written originally for Poet of the Light on the WORDS Community

Quislings quickly make me queasy,
Ingratiating Uriah Heeps,
Soulless types who know
No loyalty except their own
Advancement. Mama would
Be for sale if they could make a
Profit on her. You remember them
When, but that is only a mirage;
Their soul vanished long ago
In the new found heat of the
New regime. But somehow,
Scum always rises to the top.

(C) 2017 David W. Palmer

Espy

When
I
Walked
Into this
Room, every eye
Did espy, but not despise me
If I am God's gift to women, then why do they run
The opposite direction from me as fast as they can? Know what you're missing, Ladies?

(C) 2017 David W. Palmer

Yes, my friends, this was certainly tongue in cheek.  And I think that every lady would answer that final question with two words:  TOO WELL

Orenda

Written originally for EqCi on the WORDS Community

You may have felt unnoticed, but the world has noticed you
You cannot move, or live, or breathe, or even lift a finger
Without releasing endless ripples rolling to the edge of doom.
You are the world's mariposa, and just the flutter of your wing
Sets in motion the orenda which will not return to you void,
But change the world's destiny in endless subtle ways.
We did not get to where we are going apart from you.

(C) 2017 David W. Palmer

Mångata

The moon, my mistress of the night, watches,
Gazing upon the lake by which I stood
Peering across to distant shores and dwellings
Unfamiliar. Luna looked upon me and took pity
For my lonely state that night, and offered me
Her mångata: "Come lad, don't be afraid. Walk
The center of my light. Ignore those waves of doubt
Looking only upon me." Oh Lunar Lofty Lady, would
That I had faith enough and courage to step out
Into the gracious unknown of your provenance.
But she, with eloquence did reply, "My son
Times there are for throwing caution to the wind.
At moments such as these, the only shame
One might wear are dry clothes and shoes."

(C) 2017 David W. Palmer

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Ubiquitous (A Fibonacci Sequence)

Ubiquitous 

did
you
really
honestly
think ubiquitous
jabbering would stultify my
desire to refute your plethora of useless
lies and reimagined “new truth” you cram down gullets of the weak and gullible?

© 2017 David W. Palmer

Noblesse Oblige

If
much
has been
entrusted
to your allotment
in life, was it intended just
to satisfy your boredom with more useless toys? Or,
 do you have that sense of noblesse oblige, that you have been entrusted to give much more?

© 2017 David W. Palmer

Saturday, February 11, 2017

16 Collaborative Poems on "Moontrail," A Sonnet

I was privileged to invite poets in my online G+ Community, Canvas to My Soul, Public Site, to join me in a collaboration writing Sonnet #340, "Moontrail."  Sixteen took me up on the challenge and here they are. One is incomplete as of this post.

STRUCTURED POETRY CLASS

SONNET #340A. Collaboration with Maricris Cabrera

Sonnet #340A Moontrail
By Maricris Cabrera & David Palmer

Dave:
Alone to view this moontrail, loss felt keen
And sharp, for you have cross’d it in the night
Bleak morning light has barr’d my path, this plight
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

Maricris:
Let me paint your face under the moonlight
Your eyes are full moons shimmering with dreams
Windblown hair, lips breathing with love it seems
Beautiful Venus awakens tonight.

Dave:
I feel your touch caressing me in soft
Saffron silk, you dry my tears, so lonely
Have I been without you. But now aloft
In God's time, I'll see my one and only.

Maricris:
Shadows glimmer with perfect reflection
Your light strikes my soul with love’s affection

© 2017 Maricris Cabrera & David Palmer



Sonnet #340B
By Dr. Tanvi Shah & David Palmer

Alone to view this moontrail, loss felt keen
And sharp, for you have cross’d it in the night
Bleak morning light has barr’d my path, this plight
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

Know not the span, my reflection will take,
I solaced; to make peace with the certain.
Colours unchanged, mem’ry leaves green remain.
Breaths of a name was norm now a mistake.

The moon reflects radiance from solar
Source, yet subtracts not understood
From lunar chalky craters. E’en so would
I wish to live our lost choices over.

About soundlessness, I confabulate
With night, of weak stars' promises; at stake.

© 2017 Dr. Tanvi Shah & David Palmer
All intellectual property rights retained by the author



SONNET 340C “Moontrail”
By Garry Spooner & David Palmer

Dave:
Alone to view this moontrail, loss felt keen
And sharp, for thou hast cross’d it in the night
Bleak morning light hath barr’d my path, this plight
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

Garry:
for  surely thou hast  seen  my  tears that  fall
and  stored them  in the inkwell of thy  heart
so  on  a page with ink  they  will impart
the  words  of  joy and sadness one and all

David:
Oh! Could I but with thee, one moment more
Recapture all the join our friendship shar’d
But, no, time in reverse, by phantom curs’d
I will remember thee as tears I pour.

Garry:
But yet all of this  angst  I would  not  trade
For  unions  such  as  ours  in heav'n are made

©2017 Garry Spooner & David Palmer





SONNET 340D “Moontrail”
By Kofi s.E Senyo & David Palmer

Dave:
Alone to view this moontrail, loss felt keen
And sharp, for thou hast cross’d it in the night
Bleak morning light hath barr’d my path, this plight
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

Kofi:
soul yearns a bridge, dreams and reality
space your absence creates deep, uncolor’d
memories of you will keep me wired
missing you my only ability

Dave:
Deep my grief has gripped me in this fog
Of pitiless confusion and regret
How swiftly pass’d our days, “Hail friend, well met!”
And priceless thoughts we shar’d in dialog

Kofi:
Grief and regret, your soothing words numb
Friendship amid despair, better than rum.

© 2017 Kofi s.E Senyo & David Palmer


SONNET 340E “Moontrail”
By Arun Sharma & David Palmer

David:
Alone to view this moontrail, loss felt keen
And sharp, for you have cross’d it in the night
Bleak morning light has barr’d my path, this plight
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

Arun:
Let us have our own aura e’en better
Won't survive on crumbs which are borrowed
World is mesmerized by souls halo’d
Joys of life will come to us on platters
David:
Calm, serene, we center deep in our souls
To feel the mystic union with God
Then with soft footfalls life’s pad I will trod
‘Til all is One and One to all unfolds.

Arun:
Our souls' union will bring results supreme
Planet shall celebrate with  fresher gleam

© 2017 Arun Sharma & David Palmer


Sonnet 340F “Moonlight”
By Nasreen Malik & David Palmer

David:
Alone to view this moontrail, loss felt keen
And sharp, for you have cross’d it in the night
Bleak morning light has barr’d my path, this plight
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

Nasreen:
Lonely have l felt in this Moonlight sky
My heart is casting Shadows like the Moon
My Soul searceth'  my Heart in desp’rate swoon
No sign of you, Dawn hath broke with a sigh

David:
Though touch no longer we experience
No moment passes where I’m not with you
In memory, in thought, your features, too
So, hovers here my soul in your presence.

Nasreen:
Sadness overwhelms my tears like a spring
My shrivel'd heart misses the joy you bring.

© 2017 Nasreen Malik & David Palmer





SONNET 340G “Moontrail”
By Mari Felices & David Palmer

[Dave:]
Alone to view this moontrail, loss felt keen
And sharp, for you have cross’d it in the night
Bleak morning light has barr’d my path, this plight
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

[Mari:]
You had appeared out of the twilight
Now you disappear into the moonlight
And still I wait for you on the seaside
'Cause you were in my thought, preoccupi’d.

[Dave:]
Strange how my delight now prefers the night
For then, the path by which you left is seen
Call me out upon the water, Lord, keen
Am I to walk t’ward you while you’re in sight.

[Mari:]
I leap with glee, it's you, deep in my heart
though miles apart, destiny leads our path.

© 2017 Mari Felices & David Palmer



SONNET 340H “Moontrail”
By Mohammad Shahnawaz & David Palmer

[Dave:]
Alone to view this moontrail, loss felt keen
And sharp, for you have cross’d it in the night
Bleak morning light has barr’d my path, this plight
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

[Mohammad:]
Got lost in my plight seeking sun and stars;
Chased them down through narrow skinny ways,
I did it for a chain of nights and days;
When I raged through paths of lone fought wars.

[Dave:]
But now, in God’s light, I see Paradise
His mercy, provision, is new each day
Thankful was I when this love came to stay
Hope in my heart, I’ll endure sacrifice.

[Dave:]
How long it stretch'd; the abyss dries and fades
Escalate through light to God's easing shade

© 2017 Mohammad Shahnawaz & David W. Palmer


SONNET 340I – “Moontrail”
By Niamh Serendipity & David Palmer

[Dave:]
Alone to view this moontrail, loss felt keen
And sharp, for thou hast cross’d it in the night
Bleak morning light hath barr’d my path, this plight
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

[Niamh:]
Seldom, hath love seen; such burning torment
For thy scorn, knows; 'yond devils own fury
Should men hang; with no recourse to jury
Shrill madness; could this mortal mind ferment

[Dave:]
For pity sake, why now deny me love
Which we shared once in sweet communing grace?
What ruse must I employ to seek thy face
Or, pick thy lock and enter, precious Dove?

[Niamh:]
Undertake with love; a penance for me
Swear faithfulness so I'll be thine; set free

© 2017 Niamh Serendipity & David Palmer


SONNET 340J “Moontrail”
By Deb Davis & David Palmer

[Dave:]
Alone to view this moontrail, loss felt keen
And sharp, for thou hast cross’d it in the night
Bleak morning light hath barr’d my path, this plight
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

[Deb:]
So unreal I once felt the light , you left
Only shadows reveal , deep loss tonight
Far away your light, now dim , you melt ...gone
Forever shadow, nothing will feel right.

[Dave:]
Never would I choose to leave you forlorn
Hear me in the cold wind calling your name
Feel me in the sunshine along the lane
See me in dreams of fervent wishes borne

[Deb:]
Forever will I see my love in stars
My tethered heart is bound to you by scars
© 2017 Deb Davis & David Palmer


Sonnet 340K “Moonlight”
By Sukanya Basu Mallik & David Palmer

[Dave:]
Alone to view this moontrail, loss felt keen
And sharp, for you have cross’d it in the night
Bleak morning light hath barr’d my path, this plight
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

[Sukanya:]
I kept walking alone, e'en without you
Sore have I suffered the punishment
For the crime I didn't even commit
Never was my heart to you less than true

[Dave:]
I did not want to leave for time did plead
But life and death are in the hands of God
You are not being punished for the sod
Claims me, but o’er you my soul holds, indeed.

[Sukanya:]
Unaware One: I wasn't unfaithful
He, the Departed, could not be truthful

© 2017 Sukanya Basu Mallik & David Palmer

SONNET 340L “Moontrail”
By JO Thomas & David Palmer

[Dave]
Alone to view this moontrail, loss felt keen
And sharp, for you have cross’d it in the night
Bleak morning light has barr’d my path, this plight
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

[JO]
Clueless my desire in mind and heart
Are you no longer amus'd on your path?
She shines deeply above, songs my heart hat
Moontrail found me careless living in light

[Dave]
My heart reproaches me that we did part
But separate visions we do pursue
I thought 'twas best to leave without adieu
Our dreams oblige us both forthwith to start

[JO]
A fresh new land o’er light tears lost this night
Moontrail’s lost emotions, death waits her light

©2017 JO Thomas & David Palmer


SONNET 340M “Moontrail”
By Karen Hayward & David Palmer

[Dave]
Alone to view this moontrail, loss felt keen
And sharp, for you have cross’d it in the night
Bleak morning light hath barr’d my path, this plight
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

[Karen]
See now, Casablanca blooms neath dark skies
Purest petals, moons white essence graces
Our lost loves. Delicate Lilly fragrance,
Our infinite universe, no goodbyes

[Dave]
Star-cross’d lovers caught in wider array
A world at war and we live in the past
But, ‘gainst us in this life, the die is cast
In this madness where the devil’s at play.

[Karen:]
Alas, playful pity for the fallen
Spring calls neath moon’s tail and new love calling

©2017 Karen Hayward & David Palmer
(All intellectual property rights retained by the authors)




Sonnet 340N “Moontrail”
By: Tanya Jean Williams & David Palmer

[Dave:]
Alone to view this moon trail, loss felt keen,
And sharp, for you have crossed it in the night,
Bleak morning light has barr'd my path, this plight,
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

[Tanya:]
The sky lights up, as the moon glows brightly,
Walking upon the beautiful lime light,
Feeling at ease, as I take in the sight,
Leaving a silhouette path so lightly.

[Dave:]
But beauty betrays an aching lost heart
How strange is the world with you not in it
Play your favorite songs on the spinnet
And wish, O my God, that death not “do us part.”




SONNET 340-O “MOONTRAIL”
BY Gelda Castro & David Palmer

[Dave:]
Alone to view this moon trail, loss felt keen,
And sharp, for you have crossed it in the night,
Bleak morning light has barr'd my path, this plight,
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been.

[Gelda:]
My heart cries in secret for suff’ring pain
Sore from the sharp sword of your lack of love.
When will I see again hope soar above,
When sobbing fluidity falls like rain?

[Dave:]
Poor comfort are friends who say that they care
Yet want me to get over him quickly
Grief contrary when they laugh heartily
My red eyes provoke such insolent stares

[Gelda:]
However, i will untie all nodes at stake
I'll wait for you 'til the final daybreak

© 2017 Gelda Castro(Gel Poetry Garden) & David Palmer

SONNET 340P “Moontrail”
By Kanta Roy & David Palmer

[Dav
e:]
Alone to see this moontrail, loss felt keen
And sharp for you have cross'd it in the night
Bleak morning light has barr'd my path, this plight
Cuts my heart deep, as it has never been

[Kanta Roy:]
Pain of oozing blood, mirror honoured;
Carrying books pregnant, rise from the tomb,
Storm quivers, frigid shadow linking hearts;
Whispers from the universe, dark barr’d path.

[Dave:]
None who enter may return from that night
I merely ask you to remember me
That light we lit is bright, Persephone
Despite our sep’rate realms which is our plight

[Kanta Roy:]
No plight, when I imagine this, simple,
My heart’s half complete missing your dimple .

© 2017 Kanta Roy & David Palmer

Ambrosial

Trade winds blow, and did you know? They carry your name upon them!
Some call them storms, but I prefer to think they are your kiss
Upon my cheek and through my hair, and playful on my lips.
The rain tastes of sweet ambrosia and I know your heart is set
Thinking of me and weeping that together we are not yet
But soon upon prevailing winds our hearts and minds unite
But more than that discovery, we've come to anchor in the port
There we scrap our ships of state to build a home for two
Don't think me foolish, Darling, for our separate sojourns will then be through.

© 2017 David W. Palmer

CORDATE Sonnet 354

CORDATE [Sonnet 354]
By David Palmer
11-February, 2017
Maple Valley, Washington, USA

My soul is shaped by your sweetest love
And to your pleasure you infuse tensile
Strength which intensifies as reconcil'd
To your faith, I'm your blessing from above.
I look'd within surpris'd to see you wove
With skillful hands my CORDATE shape of soul
The man I was has chang'd indeed. Unfold
Your chevalier, in storms, your protective cove.
As love grows, a sure likeness has emerg'd
To meet us one, indeed, one knows us both
For mirror souls upon God's anvil forg'd
May we continuously be. Growth
But leads us inward to a closeness pour'd
Within the heart shap'd mold which forms our troth.

© 2017 David W. Palmer

Friday, February 10, 2017

Cold Beauty (A Fibonacci Sequence)

Cold Beauty

snow
fall,
magic
remaking
of the world I know;
fell asleep in weary wetness,
only to awaken to angelic paradise!
Oh me! Oh my! Won’t Arianna be surprised, when she wakes to see this wonder?

© 2017 David W. Palmer
Poem & Photo

Sonnet 353: Post Truth (OED's Word of the Year 2016)

Word of the Year “Post-truth” (Sonnet #353)
By David Palmer
8-February, 2017
Maple Valley, Washington

Pablum assuages the popular ear
Old times of honest discussion passé
Sacrifice facts to deceive us en masse
Tout “alternative facts” to bolster fear
Train people to mistrust “the other” peers
Resort to lies to create policy
Under suspicion place innocency
Tear at the fabric of values and jeer
Hatred and bigotry, now stock and trade
Facts of Science ignor’d, feelings touted
Each right of the citizens scoff’d and parlay’d
All warning prophets routinely doubted
Rise up Sleeper, defend values betray’d
Stand for Truth that Ignorance be routed.

© 2017 David W. Palmer
All intellectual property rights retained by the author

The Oxford English Dictionary named “post-truth” the Word of the Year for 2016, a sure sign of our times.  An adjective, it is “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”

Sonnet 348: Torch

Sonnet 348 “Torch”
By David Palmer
3-February, 2017
Maple Valley, Washington

There was a time once in a golden age
When my world was young, dreams for the taking
That gold ring hung was there for the snatching
I’d remake this world, my turn center stage.
One fact overlooked, forgot to gauge
Those in the spotlight aren’t ready to yield
To a brash young kid just taking the field
Dreams crash and burn while we’re turning the page.
We’re tempted to settle, hope for the best
But dreams don’t lie dormant when heaven sent
We reformulate them with flair and zest
Not just for your lifetime, they’re only lent
Carry them forward and pass to the rest
Who relay that light, ‘til darkness we’ve bent.

© 2017 David W. Palmer
All intellectual property right retained by the author



Trade Winds Blow (free verse)

Trade winds blow, and did you know? They carry your name upon them!
Some call them storms, but I prefer to think they are your kiss
Upon my cheek and through my hair, and playful on my lips.
The rain tastes of sweet ambrosia and I know your heart is set
Thinking of me and weeping that together we are not yet
But soon upon prevailing winds our hearts and minds unite
But more than that discovery, we've come to anchor in the port
There we scrap our ships of state to build a home for two
Don't think me foolish, Darling, for our separate sojourns will then be through.

© 2017 David W. Palmer

Sonnet 352: L'Entrée

L'entrée (Sonnet 352)
By David Palmer
6-February, 2017
Maple Valley, Washington, USA

Walls of separation, bricks of regret
Barriers protect us, yet exclude love
Pretty, ornamental, defenses prove
Pris’ners of access in towers unmet.
I’ve seen you, Princess, weep in your garret
Protected by fiery dragons fierce
Yet, woe to the knight attempting to pierce
Your gauntlet of fire, deflecting his merit.
But soft, I do spy your garden’s back door
Fear not, I’m not here to pluck and plunder
What could be rose petals, thorns do adorn
Where soft zephyrs could please, play the thunders
Veuillez accorder l'entrée,* love reborn
Together, your loneliness, we plunder.

©2017 David W. Palmer
All intellectual property rights retained by the author

*Line 13, “Please, grant entrance” (French)

Sonnet 351: Language of Love

Language of Love (Sonnet 351)
6-February, 2017
By David Palmer
Maple Valley, Washington, USA

Your heart and mine speak the language of love
Despite the mother tongue we first lisped
To a truth, e’en seventeen whispered
One’s could not clarify more, Precious Dove.
Sometimes great eloquence falls from above
As wellsprings of soul shed copious tears
Or kisses silence our tongues, lips draw near
To experience deep passion thereof
But what speaks most plainly are three simple words
At least in English, they are “I Love You”
But Spanish simplifies, “Te amo,” two!
In either case I bind our souls with chords.
Speak to me best when I look in your eyes
Delight I see there, infinite surprise.

©2017 David W. Palmer
All intellectual property rights retained by the author

Sonnet 350: "Fairie"

FAIRIE (SONNET 350)
By David Palmer
6-February, 2017
Maple Valley, Washington, USA

I.
I found it but once when just a wee boy
‘Tis said one has to believe to e’en see
The portal in the path to Avonlea
Abode of Etherea, source of joy.
A mirror she held of silver alloy
And sang a sweet song which bid my tears start
Love lost when a mortal man stole her heart
Life could not claim him, Death came to destroy.
She startled at first, to hear me weep
But drew me to her in loving embrace
“Your tender heart breaks, my secrets to keep
But don’t cry m’lad, for his spirit doth trace
The joy in my heart, affection so deep
To remember his love, brightens my face.”

II.
A door in the forest floor did appear
“Come lad, walk with me, and see my bower
‘Tis fragrant like jasmine, rest ye this hour.”
Sweet fruits and biscuits my taste buds did cheer.
Elf-maidens danc’d, elf-men play’d lutes, the weir
Did resound to their gaiety; wind sprites
And zephyrs swirl’d madly around so bright
Was the light their wing did generate dear.
Drifted to dream-land, awoke with a start
Asleep on the knot of the old oak’s root
The door in the floor, and fairies depart’d
Did I dream this encounter?  Of a truth
I know not, mariposa wings impart
Memories of wee folk I saw in suite.

©2017 David W. Palmer
Poem Only


Sonnet 349: Devotion

Devotion (Sonnet 349)
By David Palmer
4-February, 2017
Maple Valley, Washington

Difficulties line our path to reach love’s
Fulfillment; but Darling, it’s called treasure
Because there is effort in the venture
Its cost measur’d in bruises mark’d unglov’d.
We brave the pain to have and hold above
Fear which threatens visible wounds that scar
Tattoo monuments say my heart is barr’d
Under your lock and key, plac’d there by love.
Should you ever doubt our love worth this rod
Of discipline, I would cross the ocean.
This barefoot promise, I swear before God;
Count on this beyond all other notions,
E’en come to you cross broken glass UNSHOD;
This, my fullest measure of devotion.

©2017 David W. Palmer
All intellectual property rights reserved by the author