Posted on:Free form poetry HUMOUR Poetry Sarcasm writing

Poetry! Cosmic Detention or Contemplating the Universe Beneath a Dark Sky. And No, I’m Not High

Cosmic Detention or Contemplating the Universe Beneath a Dark Sky. And No, I’m Not High

Maybe-

the reason we haven’t had a recent visit from extraterrestrials

is because we just aren’t ready for them.

Maybe 

this planet is a giant playpen

with high sides on our technology

so we won’t climb out

and stick our fingers

into the

Socket Of Creation

and break it

Maybe

we need a few more millenia

to winnow out our aggression

and our massive egos

before the Galactic Babysitters

will consider taking us

on a deep space field trip

Maybe

they already left behind

a whole lot of evidence of their earlier visits-

You know,

before humanity grew into

an out of control

raging

hormonal cluster of adolescents

who perpetuate the myths

that only males should rule the planet

and colors should be sorted into

keep

and 

discard piles-

and myths like animals are food

and that one group’s religious superhero

could beat up another groups religious superhero

Maybe

many light years out

there’s a perimeter warning that reads:

RESTRICTED AREA;

INHABITANTS CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO MAKE GOOD CHOICES

They’re right you know.

We aren’t ready

So here we sit

drumming fingers on our desks

waiting for the door to open

that let’s us out of Cosmic Detention

Posted on:writing

Poetry Day: Night Vigil

Night Vigil  by  Mimi DiFrancesca

On the last night of his life

My father asked to see the stars

So I lifted his frail weight into the chair

And wheeled him out the door-

Beneath the Phoenix midnight sky

His cloudy eyes looked up

To soak in the vast dome of wonder-

A million points of light awaited him

Visible, even hindered by the street lights

His old friends were waiting still

Like they had so long ago

When he ran through an Illinois field

His brothers at his side

Surely, like they did as he stood on deck

To cross the channel of black water

That brought his different brothers 

to the shore of Normandy

Even then, those same shining friends

Stood guard

As promise of more-

And on that last night of July 

Beneath the desert sky

He took one last look

Certain then the stars were true

Forever holding their celestial vigil

Witnessing the lives 

Of every being

Across the universe

Reminder

Promise

Of something more.

Posted on:Poetry writing

Poetry Day: My Full Moon Face

My Full Moon Face            

you think you know me

because you can stand in a certain spot

on a particular day

at a specific time of night

and, 

if the sky is clear

you can find me shining again

at a determined declination 

and right ascension

you think you know me because

a few times each year

you can see

my full moon face

you think you know me 

because you’ve studied what I’m made of

and ascertained the orbit of my life

In truth

you’ve observed 

the least of me

and then, only for fleeting moments

on occasional sightings

the rest of me

that’s always 

hidden from your view

is the most of me

you think you know me-

you don’t know 

what I get up to

in the collective

of the immeasurable 

dark sky

Posted on:writing

Poetry Day: Sky Cathedral

Sky Cathedral

Outside is my church

and stars-

are candles in my sky cathedral

Open every night-

wherever I go

Along the vast Milky Way

every one that I

have ever known

who has now abandoned

this physical life

to swim in the sea of stardust 

and commiserate with ancients-

I see them

like they see me

face towards the Universe-

And they hear me ask

“So, 

how am I doing?”

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/