Posted on:Free form poetry Poetry SPOKEN WORD writing

The Dark Sky Poetry Project

Our labor of love- a video poetry event we call, The Dark Sky Poetry Project.

We made this video to offer a way for local poets to be a part of a weeklong celebration of dark sky events at the Northport Arts Association, in Northport , Michigan that included a fantastic gallery exhibit (with social distancing and masks in place!) There was a night of music about the stars, a lecture by Mary Stuart Adams and a dark sky photography workshop given by nature photographer, Sheen Watkins at the tiny Woolsey Airfield here at the top of the Leelanau Peninsula in Michigan. It’s been a magical week as our night sky not only dazzled us with clear skies and a billion stars, the Aurora Borealis decided to show her face and the Neowise comet did a photobomb.

Here’s Sheen’s luckiest photo ever from Cathead Bay on Lake Michigan from June 13, 2020. 109323459_10217789036012763_8275601304294396698_o

www.sheenwatkins.com

 

Northport Arts Association:   NAA

Posted on:Free form poetry Poetry writing

Poetry Day: Monarch

Monarch

Dirty hands in the garden

Flowers in their places- just so.

Ready now for Monarchs 

as they make their way north from Mexico.

Time and money and work

to get it right and make it welcoming

for these elusive visitors.

A few weeks on-

flowering nicely

alone.

Wandering back to the barn

along the edge of the woods

where wild things grow

stood dozens of milkweed plants

sharing their heady fragrance

with the bees and monarchs 

who were busy with their work.

Strange, just then, to think of me at 25. 

Remembering the time and money and work

to make myself a garden

for a monarch 

and in the end of that-

it wasn’t about the shine and the slope,

the curves and the tightness

the tone or the petal covering-

The monarch settled happily

On a wild familiar flower

We could learn much from

accepting what the monarch wants.

PicsArt_07-14-12.38.57

 

 

Posted on:Free form poetry Poetry writing

Poetry Day: The Best Perfume

The Best Perfume

If they could bottle

the perfect perfume

of the yard

on this July night-

it would be the only thing I’d wear.

Honeysuckle and milkweed chase

nicotiana

as they run on the air

to greet me.

And as I round the corner

petunias, lavender and geranium

rise to dance with fragrant pine.

Parisian perfumers come close

in their white laboratories.

But they miss the notes of ozone

heralding a sun shower approaching

and the whiff of fresh cut grass

arriving from the neighbor’s lawn.

And the subtle musk of wildlife that

crossed in early morning as they stole

the bright flower heads for breakfast.

A thousand unseen elements

create this custom blend-

the pure essence of summer.

Posted on:GloPoWriMo2020 Haiku Poetry NaPoWriMo2020 writing

NaPoWriMo2020 Poem #30 of 30: Art Through Peter

National Poetry Writing Month and Global Poetry Writing Month! I’m done. 30 poems in 30 days. I always enjoy this challenge because it makes me stop for a period of time each day to dig around in my word garden and see what I can pull out for a little snack or a full on meal. This last one is going to be a little Birthday shout out for a friend and artist up here at the top of the Leelanau Peninsula who constantly amazes all of us with what he creates in his “mad scientist” studio on beautiful Cathead Bay.  You can find Peter’s artwork at Studio 106 on Mill Street in Northport. So here you go Peter Davidson! Your very own Haiku poem. Happy Birthday my friend.

Poem # 30 of 30

Haiku

Art Through Peter

Found it on the beach

turned it into something else

art flows through Peter

Find out more about Peter’s artwork at: https://www.facebook.com/Studio-106-226452160763109/

Posted on:Free form poetry GlPoWriMo 2020 NaPoWriMo2020 writing

NaPoWriMo2020 Poem #26: What Will Be Forgotten

inspired by the image by photographer, Jackie Heitchue    jackieheitchue.com

What Will Be Forgotten

 

Such fuss over gold and diamonds

babies in the grand scheme of things

what is a measly billion or two years

growing in the ground

compared to quadruple that

spent

hurtling through

the cold silent universe

passing suns

and solar systems

crashing into other solid objects

and changing trajectory

over the eons

until the smallest

portion-

the most lasting bits-

enter Earth’s atmosphere

and arrive with a fiery show

to be gathered by a wizard

to forge Excaliber

or a ring of simple striated metal

worn by the soul

who truly knows its value-

far beyond that of pedestrian diamonds and gold

that litter shopping mall jewelry cases

This- like a lifetime of gathered wisdom

is the true treasure

we leave behind

as we blaze our way through life

ending, scattered, in the Earth after our fiery show

and guarded by the lucky few

who know our story

they make sure that we are not

what will be forgotten

 

What Will Be Forgotten
Photo by Jackie Heitchue “What Will Be Forgotten”