"February is"

February is

shades of grey and tan,
dull sage green
with etchings of black;

like a bashful beauty
wrapped within woolen coat;

or a cardinal flashing through
forest's canopy.

I take my cue,
plump pillows of grey & tan,
swipe soft-green upon lids,
slip on little black, paint lips red -

drop my robe, remind him
spring's almost here.

by Margaret Bednar, February 9, 2014

This is linked with "Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - Imagined by Heaven" - featuring artist Lisa Graham, HERE.   Also look her up on Facebook.

Also linked with "dVerse Poets Pub - sketchbook in-the-moment poetry" - Claudia has us looking out our window and writing what we see.

This will also be for next week's Friday Flash 55 over at Mr. Know It All's blog HERE - perfect for Valentine's Day, I think! 

"Weekend Get-a-Way"

Weekend Get-a-Way

Beachside.  The word itself

draws a sigh.  Sand, sun,

not summer's emerald tinted waves,

but winters slate-gray

courts Atlantic's vast expanse. 

Her steady, almost solemn breath

greets us each morn, dolphins slice

parallel paths, seagulls pose

against a tangerine sky,

the perfect whelk, collected,

our footprints imprint our brief sojourn

upon her tide-swept shore.

by Margaret Bednar, February 7, 2014

This is for Friday Flash 55.  I am STILL re-running the two weekends I had with different daughters at the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Ocracoke is my favorite island, and I can't wait to go back.

For those of you who are living in the wintery wonderland of "Antarctica Michigan" and other northern states of the U.S.A, maybe if you do what I did when I wrote this … closed my eyes and tried to feel the heat of the sun and sand - maybe this will warm you a bit.

"Birthing A Poem"

Birthing A Poem

Rarely is it a bursting desire
or a secret unearthed,
more often it's a pausing,
a quietude that invites reflection.

It's an image often glimpsed,
captured with film, sometimes quickly,
other times background, lighting,
composition agonized over.

It's words poured forth
as if ruptured, flowing effortlessly,
other times doubled over,
labor pains so intense I swear it's the last one -

but after a few days my eye sees an image
my heart wants to hold,
and well, I've rarely been recognized
for my discipline and restraint.

by Margaret Bednar, February 6, 2014

This is for "Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - Find Your Creative Space".  These photos are examples of me taking my time, and getting lucky with the birds that happened to be flying by.