How she shines!

March 1, 2021 Chris Hall57 Comments

golden sun’s fluid glow flows
over your curves, filling your crannies
opulence wrapped in creamy pearlescence
your soft skin shines in the pale pink dawn

now dazzling white in high noon light
towers thrust skywards to pierce
softly yielding cornflower skies
your marble-clad radiance blisters bright

now descending, the great bronze orb
drapes his saffron cloak over your opal shoulders
while beneath the aquamarine firmament
your gleaming countenance smoulders

silver stars prick the velvet twilight
sapphire serenity pervades
everlasting yet ever changing
your beauty pleads devotion

Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #71 photo prompt.

Image credit; Sanin Sn @ Unsplash
The image shows a front view of Taj Mahal, Agra. The sun is either rising or setting in the background.

Topsy Turvy World

February 22, 2021 Chris Hall46 Comments

humankind turned upside-down
keeping safe’s what matters
all around the world
economies in tatters
scientists in overdrive
to keep one step ahead
corruption, disruption
stop now, keep your head
mixed message, fake news
sops to the masses
governments in disarray
staying put’s what matters

Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #70 photo prompt.

Image credit; Lance Anderson @ Unsplash
The image shows tall skyscrapers lit in the evening light. In the front there is a small pale-coloured house resting at an angle on the ground, one side of it raised from the ground.

We’ll Always Have Paris

February 16, 2021 Chris Hall68 Comments

In the new bloom of passion
and the early flush of spring
we first walked the boulevards
of the city of lovers
entwining ourselves
in darkening alleyways
indulging in delights
behind closed doors.

In long, lazy, late summer’s days
we roamed gardens and parks
and wandered through galleries
spent evenings in Montmartre
listening to a solitary pianist
playing our tune.

In the midst of winter now
we travel no more
but like Bergman and Bogart
we’ll always have Paris.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #69 photo prompt.

Image credit: Lucas Albuquerque
The title image shows a view of the Eiffel Tower at night when it is illuminated in golden light. In the foreground you can see the Seine river reflecting the lights.

Marking Time

February 1, 2021 Chris Hall59 Comments

Days which merge
one into another
marking time
tied down
by new normal’s rope.

tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…

A ray of light
spills through the bars
a gap for hope
to squeeze through.

tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…

How long before
with the tiny prick
of a needle
we widen the chink
in covid’s armour
and creep through
to emerge, blinking
in the light?

tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…

Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #67 photo prompt.

Tim Hüfner @ Unsplash
The photo shows a partially open gate, which is thrown in relief by a light filtering from a doorway.

Flying off the Canvas

September 14, 2020 Chris Hall45 Comments

The image shows an incomplete watercolor on open pages of a notebook. There are tubes of colors next to it and some painting paraphernalia.

Purple robes from the snot of snails, rays from the tails of mango-fed cows.
Colour-wash fades, dribbles down the page,
Feeble brush strokes
weep over wet
paper.

In a misery of contempt she kicks the traces of her fractious art.
Screw it up and start again!

Ground from stones, hewn from rocks
poisonous pigments from the artist’s jewel box
cobalt and lead, one blue, one red
the venomous tools of her craft.

Carving curves with furious angst
passions explode and erode
while careless cadmium spatterings
join dread smears on the studio floor.

Scissoring through shards of purple-pink silk
the blood on the carpet of despair
raising her brush she rages on
rending the canvas in two.

Written in response to Sadje’s What Do You See #47 photo prompt.
Image credit: Elena Mozhvilo – Unsplash

On the Threshold

July 13, 2020 Chris Hall35 Comments

The image shows an old bearded man standing on a stone staircase that is leading to a tower. In the background you can see mountains enshrouded in clouds.

Each time he asks:
life well-lived or just a bystander?

Young soul or old,
are you still curious?

Will you go round again?
do more, or better this time?

The wheel of life:
treadmill or merry-go-round?

Will you go round again?
learn more, and see more this time?

Turning on and endlessly on
the wheel of life

Will you go round again
or leave at the terminus?

Your choice.
Will you go round again?

Written in response to Sadje’s What Do You See #38 photo prompt.
Image credit: Stefan Keller on Pixabay

The Atonement

July 6, 2020 Chris Hall43 Comments

For visually challenged reader, the image shows a woman holding her hands in supplication. In front of her a hummingbird is hovering in air. There are flowers in the background.

Meditating in the moment
watching silent wings beat softly
in bright iridescence
inhaling the essence
of fragrant flowers
before being laid to rest
on their beautiful bower.

She, who today, has been chosen
to atone for all our sins
the balm to soothe the breast
of our broken mother, Gaia.

Written in response to Sadje’s What Do You See #37 photo prompt.
Image credit: Stefan Keller on Pixabay