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I first posted this poem two years ago. A year later, when we were under lockdown and the noise of engines fell silent and wild animals walked the streets, it seemed that nature just might have a chance, but once again, pollution spews, plastic continues to fill the oceans and the ice caps are melting even more quickly. Today, Earth Day 2021, I find my poem is just as relevant, maybe more so.
Image credit: Mother Earth by gedomenas
Dusk melts seductively
Into soft velvet
Night
Now darkness descends
Expectation
Revives
Forever, I’ll long to hold you again
On this date when I
Remember
This is our special night
When I set the table, anticipating, longing for you
Oh, I will always be longing for you.
Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #78 photo prompt.
Image credit: Gabriella Clare Marino@ Unsplash
The image shows a table set for two people. The location seems to be outdoors, in an alley.
In the calm of the evening
walking on wet sand
the soft scratch of silica
caresses my naked feet
I lift my face skywards
tasting the salt-laden breeze
sharpened by thyme-scented air
filtering from hushed hillsides
As the sun slips into the ocean
bronze and crimson flares flash
across the rolling cobalt waves
soon swallowed into darkness
Resting on a sea-smoothed rock
my feet wetted with cool water
I flare a sulphurous match
touching it to the lantern’s wick
A pool of golden light
fills the darkness of my heart
as I remember the evenings
when you were still here.
Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #77 photo prompt.
Image credit: Andrew Morris @ Unsplash
The image shows a lantern sitting on the wet sand of a beach. There are fairy lights inside the lantern.
Porcelain cheeks, rosebud mouth
hide cunning mischief
that lurks inside.
Dropping your decorous robe
lascivious lips curl around
murmured persuasions
nuzzling nakedness
your smile
beguiles
A shiver down a sinuous spine
foraging finger tips fathom
a sharp intake of breath
sensuous rhythms
rock together
forever
Dawn slides into morning
decorum is restored;
appearance is all.
Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #76 photo prompt.
Image credit: GoranH on Pixabay
The image shows a small porcelain angel sitting in a prayer mode.
Starlight pricks heaven’s violet mantle
Evening shades fade to velvet umber
Luminous in languorous liquid light
Eternal sentinel of mortal slumber
Never failing, forever wax and waning
Enduring, eternal moon.
Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #75 photo prompt.
Image credit: Jasmin Chew@ Unsplash
The image shows a young woman looking up at the sky where a new moon is visible. Her stance is meditative.
Selene is the Greek goddess of the moon. Her Roman equivalent is Luna.
Here they go again…
Thanks for hosting us on your blog, Charles!
Chatting with my characters
My characters often chat with me, usually in that sleepless hour between three and four in the morning, when they worm their way into my consciousness and strike up a conversation. Some of the principal players from my second novel, You’ll Never Walk Alone, are the most insistent. This recent conversation went the way they usually do, starting with a few flattering comments and then… well, you’ll see.
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I’m sitting with Connor and Cynthia in the patch of garden behind Cynthia’s flat. It’s late summer and bees are buzzing lazily around the neglected rosebushes, echoing the hum of the traffic circling Sefton Park.
Connor fills our glasses and places the almost empty bottle on the peeling wrought iron table. He sits back, takes a large mouthful of wine and beams at me. ‘I believe congratulations are in order, once again, Ms Hall.’
Cynthia…
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Forest’s glamour calls us softly
tempts us to tread her tranquil tracks
entwines us in expired enchantments,
past promises and spent desire.
Shrouded mysteries lie before us
veiled in magic, lost in time
where dryads strolled and naiads frolicked
in crystal pools and creeks of light.
Darkness falls as we draw closer
tracing the edge of moonlight’s sight
we trespass boldly on her magic carpet
and embrace the secrets of the night.
Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #74 photo prompt.
Image credit: Eric Muhr @ Unsplash
The image shows a forest scene with a path going deep into the forest. The trees in the distance are shrouded in mist.
What better way to celebrate than by treating yourself to a poetry collection?
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By the waterfall
In the darkness of the dawn
by the waterfall where wet curtains meet
she tiptoes over slippery rocks
singing softly to rising ripples.
In the cool of the morning
peals of giggles ring out like raindrops
as she drops her dress and lifts her face
to whirl in liberated circles.
In the heat of the afternoon
she dives through silver sheets
into the limpid pool below
where herons dart and fishes swim.
In the shade of the evening
she floats among sunlit shadows
surrounded by scented petals
cloaked in azure calm.
©2021 Chris Hall
from Creation and the Cosmos
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Creation and the Cosmos ~ A Poetic Anthology Inspired by Nature
Featuring:
Artists: emje mccarty, Heather Trotter, Steven Bryson
Authors: Braeden Michaels, Brandon White, Robert Birkhofer, Stephanie Lamb, Hidden Bear, Jenny Hayut, Chris Nelson, Chris Hall, Mark Ryan, Mark Tulin, R.H. Alexander, Sarah Licht, Oleg Kagan, Meredith Heller, Rachael Holmes, Kathryn Winograd, fara tucker, CG Tenpenny, Cassa Bassa, Cara Feral, Colleen Machut, Dvon Bridgeforth,
Photographer: Jimmi Campkin
Edited by: tara caribou
The official launch day is Tuesday 23 March, 2021
In the meantime, here are the links to where you can purchase this beautiful book.
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Although there is an ebook version, I’d strongly recommend you choose the paperback. See how beautiful it is, shown off in this video by fellow contributor, Cassa Bassa.
I know you’re there
watching, silently
out there, always out there
monitoring my movements
the click of a camera
the slam of a car door
behind me
a flash of movement
reflected in a window
will I ever be rid of you?
monitoring my movements
out there, always out there
watching, silently
I know you’re there.
Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #73 photo prompt.
Image credit: Sonny Mauricio @ Unsplash
The image shows a bald eagle sitting in the bare branches of a tree. It is looking down at the camera.
Rewinding past skirmishes
Regret like a tidal wave
Rocks on resentful oceans
Roils in seas of broken dreams
Restitution overlooked
Renders her bereft of hope
Redemption lost forever.
Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #72 photo prompt.
Image credit: Jayson Hinrichsen @ Unsplash
The image shows a young woman in a pensive mood standing outside a storefront. The glass behind her is reflecting a neon sign.
luna's on line 