Express In Eight

Pastoral, cold, Tranquility, summer rain, coast and endure

6-1-2021 Prompt: Pastoral and Contours

Shades of a smile

Last night's rain
brought a smile
to nature's face.
Brown changed
to pastoral green.
Its contours traced
from emerald to jade
to parrot to moss to mint....

6-2-2021 Prompt: Frisson and Brigand
The Outlaw

In the midnight hour
when the moon was high,
he held up the coach
pulled the fat man out
apologized profusely.
Frisson of excitement
in the brigand's blue eyes
loots the rich, feeds the famished.

6-3-2021 Prompts: Malice and Extreme
Inhuman

"I bear no malice to you,"
his eyes spoke differently.
As she turned to her car
his venomous look could kill.

A black dot on humanity's face
it killed, displaced, colonized
corrupted, drove whole societies
to extreme levels of inhumanity.

6-4-2021 Prompt: Picture of an elephant and piano

Gentle vs fierce

When the gentle elephant
moves in step with the lilting
rhythm of a sweet song
we see music's benign effect
on sensitive creatures of nature.
If harmed, gentle transforms
to fierce; beware of a massive
foot on a puny human body.

6-5-1-2021 Prompt: Cold as ice

Winter Comfort

Cold as ice is the night
warmth inside is just right.
winter's charm is special
against his shoulder she nestles.

Moonlight mixes with snow
a white world of rare glow
far away the ships at sea
sail on to a different destiny.

6-6-2021 Prompt: Ripples on water.

Tranquility

Ripples on water
widening gyres
moment by moment
stilled, by slow degrees.

Thoughts on mind
rage on and on
till rid of questions,
fears, anxiety, awareness.

6-7-2021 Prompt: Write a poem on something unexpected

Summer rain

The peak of summer
the world lay dormant.

A tap on the window
looked out reluctant.
Unexpected pleasure
flashed lightning-like.

Home after nine months at sea
his sweet smile brought the rain down.

6-8-2021 Prompt: Eisenman's Painting of "Dinner Party."

Late at night

Lethargy
enshrouds
dinner guests.
The moon mocks.
Dimmed by wine
seduced by sleep
unable to enliven
one by one fades.

6-9-2021 Prompt: Eerie

Caved in

Excited tourists enter.
Dim light, serpentine
cobwebs untouched
in the uneven caves.
Someone screamed
eerie echo through the hollows
a spooky something screeched.
Hair stood on end.

6-10-2021 Prompt: Image of mystery box.

Magic Box

Light spilled out
eyes shone in awe.
Flown to lands unknown
to treasures of long ago.

Offered options to choose
Gold, knowledge or love.
All the three perchance?
Lucky lady got them all.

6-11-2021 Prompt: WRITE A POEM ABOUT SHOES.
(Include the words slanted and tug.)

Sensible

I changed my shoes recently.
Too many pairs confuse me.
Casual footwear is my thing
The days of dancing shoes and
stilettos with four-inch heel
are a part of a delightful past.

Now, a sensible pair sans slant, the belt is
tugged down to get clipped; feet feel ensconced.

6-12-2021 Prompt: Red Rose day

Beauty and elegance

On a morning in May,
during my daily walk
in the silent lanes of
Magazine Street, Boston
I came up on cottages
quaint and colorful.
Abundant Red Roses crept all the way
up the trellis, embalming, eye-filling….

6-13-2021 Prompt: Weed your garden day
Weeds

Green fields and floral hedgerows
weeds do not fit in I know.

Yet, the false daisy, teeny weeny
tiny floral weed springs up in rainy
season, its white and yellow flowers
are a visual delight just as clover.

like people, weeds are different
need to know the ones to frequent.

6-14-2021 Prompt: Growling
Faithful

A street dog at the gate began
growling at an hour nearing dawn.

Has it seen something invisible
or a thief busy in thieving?
Is that a ghost or a devil?

Morning with tea on the porch.
Oh, no, my bicycle is missing.
If only I checked when it growled!

6-15-2021 Prompt: Dunes
A beach memory

The red dunes on the beach front
a clear memory of lavender evenings.
The red mounds of earth against
the shimmer of the blue Bay of Bengal

looked inviting enough for the
beach loving crowd on spring mornings
summer days, winter afternoons,
colorful and evocative of times long ago.

6-16-2021 Prompts: coruscating/canister

Incandescent

A memory, clear and incandescent.
We were speeding down the slope.
On the horizon a colorfully coruscating
comet "swift" appeared like a canister
overflowing with glittering diamonds.
Celestial event, incredible sight,
a wonder witnessed with naked eye
lasted a few minutes, lives in the mind.

6-17-2021 Prompt: Tell us about how it feels to touch a loved one
Loving touch

It feels ample good
to touch a loved one
if they allow.

My son in teens
never approved.

Now, as a man of means
welcomes my loving touch
returns it with equal affection.

6-18-2021 Prompt: Bouquet
Of books and bouquets

Some books are bouquets.
Each page, a flower
beautiful, cheerful.
The more I delve, the more I crave.

The scent of prose, the nectar
of inspiration, colors of style,
the variety of characters;
natural, simply delightful.

6-19-2021 Prompt: Ode to moon

The Moon

Meandering through the clouds
the moon sheds silvery light
drenching dale, hill and meadow.
Soothes millions across the globe.

I prithee wandering moon!
if you come upon my only love
rain your light on him, show
life together could be a glorious moonlit night.

6-20-2021 Prompt : A nature poem.

Sunset

Earth appeared sad
at losing sun for that night
as the red globe sinks slowly
into the ocean depths.

The sky is clear
the stars twinkled
like gems sprinkled
over the wide welkin.

6-21-2021 Prompt: Catamaran

Catamaran

I first saw it plying
at great speed off the coast
of Singapore to Malaysia
full of people chattering in
Chinese, Malay and Tamil.
The catamaran looked like
no, not a Babel, but a place bringing
different tongues together.

6-22-2021 Prompt: Describe your days of the week.

My Week

Battling with work on this day of Mars
My speed increases on vital Wednesday
Thursday gets me closer to my goals
Friday, the day I make more plans
Saturday sees me sighing in relief
Sunday inspiration is a sumptuous meal.
Oh, my Monday, a day of fresh dreams.

A week-long rejoicing of the gift of life!

6-24-2021 Prompts: Coast and Endure

Quiet and commotion

The coastal village lay quiet
after a day of busy hunt.
Sometime at midnight
the tide changed,
waves roared
surf hissed.
yet they ventured
poised to endure a destructive sea.

6-25-2021 Picture Prompt “balancing rocks of Zimbabwe”

Equipoise

She threw me off balance
transformed from being
large to slim, stable, shapely,
off with balance disorders.

How? sheer discipline, practice.
I can learn a thing or two from
dancers, artists, singers, nature or
the balancing rocks of Zimbabwe.

6-26-2021 prompt: Gargantuan
Mighty

Gargantuan hunger
made him consume
food fit for an army.
Wolf-bellied voracious eater
narrow at the waist
broad of chest
Bhima of the Mahabharata
had the strength of a thousand elephants.

Note: Bhima is a character from the Indian Epic, "The Mahabharata” known for his love of food.

6-27-2021 Prompt: Finesse

Exposition

Fingers moved in flowing finesse
on the black and white keys
of an entire musical alphabet.

Subtle touch of notes exposed
colors of life defining a net of
emotions rendering us helplessly
relating to the towering truth of our
sparks of divinity, streaks of frailty...

6-28-2021 Prompt: Corroding

Doubt

The spotless beach
gradually corroded.
white sand turned
grey then to black,
like a loving heart
turning vicious
by doubt and distrust
as that of Othello.

Note: Othello is the protagonist of Shakespeare's "Othello".

6-29-2021 Prompt: Askance

Chilled

Dumbfounded
at the slight move,
glanced askance
shock and fear and
a chill up my spine.
Muffling a scream
bashed with a slipper
the scorpion in the corner.

6-30-2021 Prompt: Departure

Elated

Pleasant departure
from the planned route.
The Vatican hummed
with excited visitors.

At four on that sunny
afternoon, he came out
with a benign smile, felt
elated with the Pope's blessing.