A Haiku For Now...

Lost bee scours garden

Skims by pollen spent flowers

Lost in poetry.

Poetry Shared

This will be my last post. I promised a last poem. I wrote 'Vase' as part of my OU A215 course poetry, with the theme of life. It is my best to date and my favourite...

Vase

Lilies dropping pollen;
Like blood stains
On white sheets.

Gerberas wilting faces
Shrivelling up
Like dead leaves.

Dehydrated they drink
The vase of tap water
Like a drip.

To any reading my blog - I thank you...

With very best wishes,

Ali

SAD

I have decided I may wish to take a break from writing. A break from blogging...

I threw a stone in the sea. It said "I wish I had never..........". But writing is my outlet. It helps me and now there is nothing left. I know many writers experience this. I have poems rejected, stories and magazine submissions collected in the 'no folder'. I have tried... I have succeeded but in the wrong publishing avenue (that's one to forget).

I will share one last poem later. There are more, but I think I will save them just for now. A lot of my work was helped along by the wonderful Open University course I took in Creative Writing. A love of haiku is something I will take from that - something new that I had never tried. I still love reading poetry. Once a poet - always...

On the theme of SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder of which I am a sufferer...SAD Symptom Information. I have a Lumie alarm clock which has a light that wakes me, Boots even stock them now, here is their Lumie Website. I can highly recommend it, especially when the clocks change. These darker days of impending Autumn are drawing in. I shall bake, I shall tidy the garden, I shall walk through rustling leaves and I shall still dream.

I wanted to share a blog that I have followed for a while. It can be sad, it can be uplifting but Ella is a genius in cooking all things. I read yesterday that sadness has hit and her dear partner is suffering a rare form of cancer. This lymphoma is rare. As I have lost a family member to the disease and know others that have been touched by it, I can say please follow their story. Ella is a writer - a cookery writer. She is witty and warms up Winter days even if you have these sort of days in the Summer.

Her latest post on Eating With My Fingers is so sad - but also very inspiring and hopeful. I wish her all the luck and her wonderful man a full recovery.

Life can be cruel. We can deal with it.

Confetti Rose

June is for roses... a little late in blooming this year but now on full show in English gardens.

This is the first rose in our garden, which sheds petals, like confetti under its boughs.
A poem is born...

Confetti Rose

Naturally fall
blanket grass pink,
for a girl.

Rose petals like
confetti thrown,
for a bride.

Cornflower Blue and Lavender Too

I've got the May blues. In my garden that is...cornflowers, bluebells, forget-me-nots and wild-flower.

Looking round the garden at all the hues of blue, reminded me of a nursery rhyme I once loved.  But can't now remember all the words. I had a book of rhymes, again where it is I have no idea. I remember it's pictures and it's pages that I glossed over through my childhood. This is the first line;

'Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green'

But no it's not blue or green. Lavender is purple blue, lilac and white in the garden centres and I'm sure I've seen a pinkie purple one too.

I don't have any lavender out at the moment - too early, but here's some from last year...

Lovely, lovely  lavender
Flower, scent - all parts
To bathe in your beauty,
Essential purity
To heal wounded hearts.

Blossoming Beauty

Blossoming beauty
surrounds, senses spring to life.
The church bell calls time.

I'm thinking poetry - in my garden

Sore eyes sting with tears.
Hyacinths and daffodils,
flood air with pollen.

Snow

Falling white feathers
Delicately free- fall, then 
Somersault to earth.

Haiku for February

Silent like shadows
Clouds grow crystal raindrops
Hailing winter storms.

Books, books and more books... keeping them alive.

I wrote this poem last year. I like to get books from charity shops and also am a supporter of keeping our local libraries. Tradition is important to me and hopefully we can keep it going for generations to follow.

Bedside Table

Library and charity

Upon my bedside table;

Supporting

The community.

Keeping the library

Open for everyone

A British tradition.

Give your books to charity

For others to browse

Through; or buy if they 

Want to.

Recycling words

In paper form 

Before they're extinct.

~

National Libraries Day 2015 see here to support the library.

World Book Day  information at 
http://www.worldbookday.com/about

For great books see Oxfam Bookshops.

Poem for January

Spirit

I am not here

I am dead:

In mind

Not in body,

No head space

Taken too much 

By others cares,

Not intended; ended. 

My intention was

Not this way.

Looking For The Good

After a few weeks of colds (the never ending sniffles), rain, wind and general grey days, it's no wonder the normal January blues are at an all time high. The other day, I decided to look for the good.

*

After heavy rain, came blue sky. Birds seemed to fly more gracefully, darting from tree to tree in the garden. My usual walk to the shops was highlighted by a pink flowering shrub (a camellia, I believe) which I vowed to capture on my phone on the way home, hoping for better light. I found warmth in the coffee shop and the local charity shop. Not just the heating, but kind people who smiled, rather than look the other way. Everyone seemed more chatty about the changeable weather in a heart-warming way. I didn't mind getting wet - my hood sufficed the forgotten brolly (why does it always rain when you have no umbrella ;D and never when you are prepared?!). The dark clouds cleared. The shrub - in the church graveyard was captured (felt a little strange doing this but had to be done... albeit it came out blurred). I apologise for trespassing - as one does!

Beauty lives in nature

I look up to blue skies on my return journey. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day...

Looking For The Good

January
is such a down
turned month to me.

I look around
to find the good -
this is what I see.

Writers and Artists Unite

Respect and peace #JeSuisCharlie. 

I felt compelled to write something. So sad. We stand tall.

~

Writers and Artists Unite

Freedom of voice
Freedom of expression
Freedom of choice
No fight.

Words and pictures
Unite,
Writers and Artists
Unite.

©Ali Newman 2015

New Year - Old Poem

I started Wishes and Writing (my blog) as a new year resolution for 2014. And I have kept to it!

So, to toast 2014 goodbye - here is an old poem written at the beginning of my writing path, many years ago.

***

Eternity 

Love burns

Like a candle

Never to be

Blown

Out.

December Haiku

White feathers like snow

A sign of peace from above

Scatter growing bulbs.

Poetry Freeze - 'Ice Magic'

We had our first heavy frost this morning. Winter is here.

I thought I'd share a wintry poem that I wrote; for one of my A215 last course assessments. If you are thinking of studying Creative Writing, I can highly recommend the Open University course A215 (see here for details).

Anyhow, here is my poem for winter and Christmas time. I like the centred view on this poem; as I think it looks (a bit) like the shape of a Christmas tree...

 Ice Magic

A scattering of

flaking sky,

a splash of dust

like icing sugar

dropped without sieving.

Falling softly like fondant,

scattering white wherever it wants to.

A fleece blanket of cold marshmallow

Ice.

Still on the autumnal theme of squirrels...

We have a cheeky squirrel and his pal; that run across the fence at the back of our garden. They are quite fast and spirited.

The other day whilst quietly reading in the garden, one made me almost catapult out of my chair! This morning, from my kitchen window whilst doing the washing up; I spied the bigger one digging again, in the downstairs neighbours garden (we live in a first floor flat). Making muddy divots in the grass; like golf clubs do when swung through the air to release the ball - only with it's little paws.

I wrote this haiku last year - thought it worked with this post.

Acorns fill the tree.

Fall down for squirrel’s dinner;

Buried deep in soil.

Pink Lily

I bought some oriental lilies the other day. They have just started opening; spraying their noxious perfume and dropping pollen. I like to cut out the stamen as it opens to reveal the opening flower's detail.

I have just popped one in my bowl (see my floating flowers post here). Lilies don't work... too big - they fill like a rowing boat taking up water.

***

Lily Pollen Stains

Pink lily floating in the bowl

Sinks deeper meaning in my soul.

I don't like lilies any-more

They make me cry dry tears; that pour.

I don't like lilies any more.

Fall

October gusts by

Dropping acorns like bullets

Oak tree sheds new life.

Happy haiku to you... Autumn brewing early

Today is my birthday. I love September; back to school, lovely sunsets and the scent of change in the air.

Taken last September - down at Milford on Sea, Hampshire.
Beautiful cloud formation; looked like pink marshmallow.

I thought I'd post a haiku. Here is one I wrote last year and used for my coursework. As autumn is approaching seemingly early this year judging by the mist outside right now; I thought this suits the day...

Autumn leaves fall down

Pile up in garden corners;

Blown away by man.