Last Stand

Last Stand

Tremulous stalks sway
where once crickets fiddled their way,
nightly concerts played

now silenced as frosty nights
lick quivering petals,

tickle mountainsides bursting aflame;
defiant southern rebels
dressed not in gray

but majestic golds, purples, and reds,
arms raised toward the sun
in surrender.

by Margaret Bednar, October 22, 2019

This is linked with "dVerse - Quadrille #90 - quiver"  44 words

Kindred

Glastonbury Tor - Somerset, England / Photo Creds:  Chelsea Bednar

Kindred

With poppies on the hill and wind-tossed hair,
whisperings of Arthur, Aquarius, and Goddess
echo within Tor's weathered arch.

I touch St. Michael's ancient stones,
find it easy to believe in dragons and fairies
and feel the caress of my ancestors' venerable song.

by Margaret Bednar, June 5, 2019

This is linked with "Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - Platform Tuesday" and "dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille #81" - a poem in 44 words and use of the word "dragon".

Below is an amazing video and short historical narrative of Glastonbury Tor.



and the "Faerie woods on Glastonbury Tor - truly magical - do yourself a favor and watch it.



My daughter is just outside London for three months on a work-away program.  She is offering her art skills in exchange for room/board and food.  Her first trip was to Glastonbury Tor. I encourage you to follow her on Instagram as she will start posting her photos and experiences soon:

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chelsea.susan.bednar/

and https://www.instagram.com/chelseabednardesign/ 

She also has an Etsy site where she specializes in handmade, stitched journals amongst other wonderful items:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/chelseabednardesign

Back in the Day

Back in the Day

Hot humid days, we'd ride our pony early
clad in bikini top, shorts, no shoes.

Late-morning found us playing jacks,
pick-up-sticks, gin rummy where Aces are low.

After lunch, a sprinkler run, fort construction,
start Monopoly; rarely finish.

No helmets, skin unprotected, unsupervised.
Summer.

Margaret Bednar

linked with "dVerse Poets - Quadrille #77 - Ace"

Also linked with "NaPoWriMo" - National Poetry Month, a celebration of poetry which takes place each April, was introduced in 1996 and is organized by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States.

Kismet

Kismet

Bees absorb Autumn's sun,
astors drape field and valley
as storm clouds gather.

Cattle tagged and fattened,
idyllic days slumbering.  Numbered.
As are canopies of olive, lime, and jade.

Flip of calendar page.  Season's first frost.
Security and fate change
as quickly as that.

by Margaret Bednar, January 14, 2019

This is linked to "dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille #71 - Change".  44 words incorporating the word "change".   This is an older poem (2014) that I have reworked. 

Here are some quotes on "change" that I really like:

“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” 

― George Bernard Shaw

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” 

― Mother Teresa

“Fashion changes, but style endures.” 

― Coco Chanel

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” 

― Malala Yousafzai, I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” 

― Winston S. Churchill

“A bend in the road is not the end of the road…Unless you fail to make the turn.” 

― Helen Keller

“The changes we dread most may contain our salvation.” 

― Barbara Kingsolver, Small Wonder

“And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees

and changing leaves.” 

― Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse

“If you want to change attitudes, start with a change in behavior.” 

― Katherine Hepburn

Solace

123rf

Solace

A chilled martini glass

is a vessel for indulgence,

sometimes solace:

vanilla vodka,

Godiva chocolate (liqueur and grated),

dash of cream and ice, shaken.

Heralds back to scraped knees,

summers on the porch,

Nestle Quick triple scooped, stirred,

chocolate milk mustaches

better than bands-aids any day.

by Margaret Bednar, September 10, 2018

This is for "dVerse Poets Pub Quadrille #64 - Quick Write Something" in 44 words.

"A Winter's Recipe" - take 2

A Winter's Recipe

A soothing open fire, two devilish dimples,
three lavish splashes of hot buttered rum
and lips to whisper four feathered trails
along one's neck.

If flame smolders to embers,
isn't a slow burn preferable
to frenzied heat for roasting chestnuts
and other such... amusements?

by Margaret Bednar, March 12, 2018 (a reworked poem from 2013)


This is for "dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille #52 - Let's Fire it Up"  I was thinking "Monday Haibun" and wrote an original poem below borrowing a bit from a poem I wrote in 2013.   I realize now it is Quadrille Monday and have reworked the poem above into 44 words - shortening the original.  I have also include the poem below as that is what I spent my creative time on today.

Historic Biltmore Village, North Carolina


Here is the Haibun I accidentally wrote" and I'll also link with "Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - The Tuesday Platform"

Snow sprinkled sidewalks muffle our steps as we hold hands; something we should do more often.  The quaint village has charmed us as if young lovers; something we should embrace more often.  Up ahead a warm glow frolics against old brick buildings, beckoning and beguiling us forward.  We extend our hands toward the smoldering fire, his two devilish dimples teasing me as I accept three lavish splashes of hot buttered rum, my insides now as warm as my hands while his lips whisper four (or more?) feathered trails alongside my neck.  My head leans on his shoulder as we wait for chestnuts to roast, a delicacy we've never tried.  I'm hypnotized by embers, oranges and reds, and soft popping nosies indicating roasting is complete... and a splash of butter and cinnamon for extra flavor.

Two devilish dimples and hot buttered rum chases away twilight's chill.

by Margaret Bednar, March 12, 2018

"Preparations"

Preparations

Caramel drizzled apples, wood stacked.
Leaves spiral down, crimson tipped,
heralding "Soon, soon"...

I fickly proclaim Autumn "my favorite",
weary of heat-drenched days.

Beneath kitchen window
fawn's still speckled, buck's alters fuzzy.

Just a pane of glass divides
sweet green grass and pumpkin-spice pie.

by Margaret Bednar, revised September 25, 2017

This is for "dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille #41" a poem in 44 words & this week use the word "spice". I revised an old poem, edited it and added the word spice.   I like it better this way.   The deer were under my kitchen window and I was making apple pie - but I have exercised artistic license :)

"State of Mind"

A State of Mind

I'm a midwestern girl 

raised on flat prairie land

of endless cornfields 

and deadly spring river-risings 

now call the Blue Ridge home 

whose size once rivaled the Alps.

Kick stones over the edge; 

watch them free-fall tumultuously

like the 9-11 victims "escaping" the flames...

by Margaret Bednar, September 11, 2017

Bizarre state of mind today - have watched a number of mind numbing and stomach turning videos of 9/11... can't stop thinking the 200 plus people who jumped to their deaths...  So many awful ways to die... and we've certainly been seeing many of them lately - earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes... all within a couple of weeks.   

linked with "dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille #40 - 44 words exactly using the word "free"

September's Overture

September's Overture

Late August finds me
reclining porch-side,
for there's no other way
to sit in an Adirondack chair -
savoring chardonnay,
appreciating a symphony
of crickets (bliss high -n- low)
and katydids (rather raspier)
frogs, the occasional dog
paying homage
to the renaissance around the corner.

by Margaret Bednar, August 28, 2017

linked with "dVerse Quadrille #39"  - 44 words and the use of the word "bliss"

"Lakeside"

Lake Lindley

Lakeside

Sun and shadow
twist upon Lake Lindley's path,
display spring's fine muted tapestry
of leaf and limb

as birdsong and bicycles
intertwine, become
my meditation.

Pedal boats bob gem-like
upon the stillness
of late Monday afternoon,
a pair of ducks the only ripple.

by Margaret Bednar, April 18, 2016

You're Invited to Listen:  https://soundcloud.com/margaret-elizabeth-bednar/lakeside

Pedal Boats

This is linked with "dVerse - Quadrille - 7 "twist"

Also linking with "Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - The Tuesday Platform"

I must beg forgiveness - I have two poetry challenges from last week I need to visit and comment on. I am in the middle of two musical productions - my daughters are in - "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and "Mary Poppins" and this keeps me hopping.    I was able to get out for a three laps around the lake today - and jot down his quick little 44 word poem.  

It also means I have "sole duty" of Oberon, our horse, and I "have to" to get out to the barn and make sure he is brushed (spring is a huge shedding time) and exercised.   "Poor" me.

If I don't find time before this Saturday morning, I will finally be sitting down Saturday morning to visit and comment on all the prompts I have participated in from last week and this week.  I'll enjoy my coffee (I'm trying to give it up during the week) and poetry reading.

"Curtain Call"

Curtain Call

I can't decide upon goldenrod,
dandelion, or just plain old yellow,
but tonight's buttery light
melts into mother earth
as periwinkle sky winks, blinks
and yawns her way toward midnight.

So much I love silhouettes itself
against evening's curtain call
as twilight's music begins.

by Margaret Bednar, March 21, 2016

This is linked with "dVerse "Quadrille #5 - melt" - a poem in 44 words, no more, no less, and this week's word we must use is "melt".