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.

Transcript

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