HAIKU
Leaves torched with colors
of flaming scarlet and gold
wear frosty white wraps
3/14/90 Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck
Posted in haiku, Nature, tagged flaming, frost, gold, leaves, scarlet on Saturday,November 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »
HAIKU
Leaves torched with colors
of flaming scarlet and gold
wear frosty white wraps
3/14/90 Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck
Posted in Nature, Poetry, Rhyming, tagged cold, cough, harvest, leaves, wheeze on Tuesday,November 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »
WINTER CURSE
When harvest days are over
And leaves have left the trees
November blows her cold breath
And we all cough and wheeze
11/02 Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck
Posted in haiku, Nature, Poetry, tagged Brittle, cold, dance, death, leaves on Wednesday,October 28, 2009| 3 Comments »
HAIKU
Brittle umber leaves
pirouette to the cold ground
in their dance of death
3/14/90 Phyllis VanVleck
Posted in Animals, haiku, Nature, Poetry, tagged bird, leaves, moisture, raindrops, summer on Wednesday,June 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »
HAIKU
Warm gentle raindrops
cupped leaves filling with moisture
bird’s summer chalice
9/7/03 Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck
Posted in Humor, Memories, Poetry, tagged beer, cabin, egg, fish eyes, glob, leaves, meadow, nectar, sunlight, wine on Wednesday,June 3, 2009| 2 Comments »
The Perfidy Of That Blue Purveyor
Of Gastronomic Pleasure
That patch of sunlight down in the meadow
beckoned relentlessly
whenever the cabin door opened.
Rows of sticks once stark in their nudity,
are regal in their support of green leaves
and curling tendrils, that spiral around
lush clusters of succulent blue Concord globs.
The sweetest summer nectar, lies hidden
between the lush royal blue skin
and the tart congealed marble it covers.
Squeezing it “just so”, you consume that glob,
like swallowing a raw egg in a glass of beer – –
plop and it’s gone. The blue skin is then tossed
to the gnats that hover the vines.
But, oh, that divine layer of juice
that lies just under the skin, beckoning – –
just one more.
Mama sent me down there with a basket,
to pick those destined for a jelly jar.
I don’t know how many I consumed,
but even before my gluttony ended,
everyone of those tart congealed globs made
their presence known, and came sliding out
as I retched, forming a neat pile
of what appeared to be fish eyes staring up at me.
Never again will I see one, without seeing the other.
Even now, I check my glass of wine, to see
if there might possibly be an eye
staring up at me from the bottom of the glass
3/11/01 Phyllis DeWitt -VanVleck
Posted in Animals, ecology, Nature, Poetry, Rhyming, tagged birds, chipmunks, flowers, fragrance, hummingbirds, leaves, rabbits, seeds, squirrels on Monday,February 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »
SENSING BEAUTY
As morning shows her golden face
After late evening showers
I watch the busy hummingbirds
Dining on my flowers
Squirrels are eating sunflower seeds
I scattered on the lawn
But take time out to play a bit
Then, up a tree and gone
Two lively sibling rabbits
Enjoy a game of chase
The squirrels are back, and two join in
Challenging a race
Chipmunks share the scattered seed
And hurry underground
Then come right back for more of same
And pouch each seed that’s found
The birds are singing melodies
Led by a mockingbird
His concert is magnificent
A treat that must be heard
Leafy trees cast patterned lace
That filigrees my lawn
They offer birds construction sites
Until the season’s gone
Flowering bushes here and there
Join fragrant garden blooms
And kiss the air with heady scents
As nature’s own perfume
I’m blessed to sense such beauty
And such tranquility
I can’t think of another place
That I would rather be
5/27/96 Phyllis DeWitt VanVleck