Season 3 Episode 11 AUGUST MUSINGS
We are lucky to live with a nature preserve on our doorstep, and the Naples Botanical Garden a bike ride away. We also had a family week in the Outer Banks. All these places inspired these poems. I was also motivated by a Masterclass given by Amanda Gorman.
The Lotus Garden
Life’s stages on display
buds of closed petals
like praying hands
Flowering lotuses
flowing white petals
with pink edging.
Upside down cones, seed pods
bright yellow
surrounded by thin stamen
silken and soft.
Petals and stamen fallen,
green cones left alone
Stand erect.
But the brown dried cones
drooping over on tired stems
look like bells
dangling from bent spines.
Like old men, they
Have spawned
the next generation.
before they drop down
into the muddy pond.
Preserve walk
As I walk through the uplands
in our preserve
I hear the sounds of insects ringing in my ears
Approach the prairie and marshes
the bull frogs call me,
l see the lone egret in the tall grasses
feel the breeze swaying the grass
the clouds drift across the blue sky
getting ready for sunset
no sound of human beings
only frogs, insects and wind
blowing through the trees
and my own foot steps.
The meandering stream sparkles
working its way through the marsh
into the grasses
towards the the trees glowing in the golden light
of sunset
Grasses of many shades of green move
to the sounds of the frog chorus
The Spanish moss
pale green beards
dangling down from the pond cypress
swinging in the breeze.
and we know it is not moss
but an epiphyte
there to decorate the stark trees.
OUTER BANKS HAIKUS
Sunny day burning
sand scorching soles
quiet souls beaching
Waters edge cool sand
icy waves hit belly
(button) shock
Plovers never caught
Running away Tiny feet
flash at lightning speed
Family waiting
Beach house week almost complete
who will cook last lunch?
Deflation moment
Sebastian the flamingo
shrinks leaving soon
Where is the drama here?
Searching the outer banks
for summer drama
At Pea sanctuary curious turtles
swim towards us
All the migrating birds have moved on
Leaving black and white
striped lighthouses
Lighthouses turned away from saving shipwrecks
Turned into tourist attractions
like tall untouchable ice cream cones
reminding us to stop
for the incredibly succulent chocolate supreme
cone we enjoyed yesterday
Scents of Happiness
Gardenias
Night flowering jasmine
salty sea air
seaweed
fresh cut grass
pine needles
earl grey
coffee
roses
Sandalwood
Stargazer lilies
Barbecues
Donuts frying
Fresh bread baking
some scent is here
for everyone’s
own memory of joy.
©MARTINSTRASMORE2023