ocean

the ancient shores of galaxies still call

printed geese 1s

I stand facing the ocean
tides of wing and air–
time fades into mystery,
emptied of illusions

sea sketch 2s

tides of wing and air
held in light–
emptied of illusions
I swim in dream languages

forms die s

held in light
horizon merges into skylandsea–
I swim in dream languages,
wordless songs that awaken stories

elaborate music s

 

horizon merges into skylandsea
consumed by rivers of stars–
wordless songs that awaken stories
mirrored in ethereal blue

ocean pencil drawing s

consumed by rivers of stars
time fades into mystery–
mirrored in ethereal blue
I stand facing the ocean

blue 2s

For earthweal, sacred (sea)scapes.  How many poems have I written about the sea?  As many as I have about birds and stars and moons.  This unrhymed pantoum contains lines from many of them.  The artwork is from my many previous ocean-themed posts as well.

Encompassed

shells of my mind s

The shells reminded her of the ocean—maps
conjuring places that she would never go–
the sky called her to sail, align with the gaps—

Her longing was fierce, vast, bottomless, with no
boundaries—she dreamed of journeys opening
new worlds that danced in amaranthine joy, flow

Echoing the trails of the stars, floating in
time with the waxing and waning of the moon,
returning to herself, circling, homecoming—

That other life was the one she wanted—strewn
in the shadows of voices calling her back
to the secrets stored inside that spiraled room

shells of my mind close up s

Frank Hubeny at dVerse gave us a difficult task–at least I found it difficult–writing tercets similar to those that were written by Dante for the Divine Comedy.  My rhythm is definitely off and more than one of my rhymes are slanted, but I did get the 11 syllables in each line.

The art has been recycled from 2015.

(more) blue

blue ocean grid s

we begin
 as vessels, empty,
all this space
waiting to
find the right oceans—ancient
echoes wandering–

 all-that-is
 transformed into an
azure song,
composed from
whispers of traces—spirals
mirroring the sea

Color BLock Blue Story by Beverly Dyer

A shadorma duo for Colleen’s #TankaTuesday poet’s choice of words.  The art inspiration is via Mish at dVerse, who introduced us to artist Beverly Dyer, and asked for an ekphrastic response to one of her paintings.  I chose her grid, “Blue Story”, above, and did my own grid to match with pieces of ocean and sky.

The poem was also inspired by Joni Mitchell.