magnetic poetry (for Jay)

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [threatened]

It wasn't that I exactly felt threatened by the pair of cardinals that were sitting on the lowest branch of the tree piping at me with their staccato voices. No. It wasn't until they started dive bombing me as I tried to pass under their nest that I was really intimidated.

Happy International Webloggers' Day! Feliz Día Mundial de os blogueiros! C'est la journée Internationale des blogueurs!

Trumpet Vine [Bignonia radicaus] (aka Trumpet Creeper aka Hummingbird Vine)

Photos by: Osquer

haiku

Sumac blossoms fall,

soft snow among the raindrops.

The thunder follows.

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [poke]

"Don't poke it!" he scolded his squire, seizing the lance from him.

"Why not, sir? I'm sure it's good and dead! You killed it proper!"

"Yes, I know it's dead but I don't want any more holes in its hide than there already are. You'll lower the value! There's a lot of money in dragon skin rugs!"

Just then the dragon's mate leapt out of the forest and ate them both. She cremated her love in dragon tradition, but according to his wishes donated his hide to a poor local family. Its profit fed them all for the winter.

haiku

I turn to the Earth

for sage advice on how to

grow strong and healthy.

Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [moment]

For one moment I was too stunned to speak then my head began to clear and then to hurt. "Ouch, damnit! Watch where you're swinging that thing!" I shouted.

"Oh, sorry," he replied, putting the cat down. "You're right. This is a really small apartment."

haiku

Paddlewheel, dry-docked

by history, now not means

but destination.

Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [killer]

"You're not a killer," he sneared at me, levelling his gun at my midsection.

"You're right. I'm not," I smiled sweetly, raising my hands, clearly showing the safety still on my gun.

"But I am!" roared a voice behind me and the look of surprise on his face was completely ruined by the shot fired at him from over my shoulder.

haiku

Squash blossoms glow in

the spring sunshine, a promise

of deliciousness.

Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [ramp]

I began my morning just as I had the countless previous mornings: by setting my shoulder against the side of a huge slab of stone and pushing it until my day ended. That is how I begin every day and it is how I will begin every day until the one on which I drop dead and am left in the wake of the slowly moving stone on the ramp on the side of the pyramid I will never see completed.

haiku (for Mama Cardinal)

Baby cardinals

amuse with their ugliness.

Papa fetches seeds.

Photos by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [jeopardy]

"I think your endeavor is in jeopardy," he cautioned, lifting a hand over my head to steady the terra cota dish full of water I'd been attempting to perch on the corner of the shed.

"I need a brace," I murmurred. He handed me a fairly sturdy cherry branch which was just what I needed to balance my birdbath.

haiku

I watch the squirrel

munching seeds and hope he will

leave some for the birds.

Photo by: Osquer

55 Fiction Friday

“Lady Eleanor and young master Archibald came to live with His Grace a year ago when her husband, Lord Admiral Weatherby, was lost at sea off of Cape Horn.”

“An admiral lost at sea? That sounds unlikely,” mused Jessica, acknowledging her increasing suspicion about the disproportionate number of unexplained deaths and disappearances in her family.

[FIRST] [PREVIOUS] (to be continued...)

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [umbrella]

I watched the bronze bodies sizzling in the sun and winced, pulling my toes back further under the shade of my beach umbrella. I’ll keep my pallor, thank you. They may look healthy now, but in a few years all you’ll be able to think when you look at them is, “Leatherface.” Besides, on my Irish skin sunburn really hurts!

haiku (for Luke – Congratulations on your graduation!)

The sun sets on so

many things but will rise on

new mornings to come.

Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [question]

"Could you put that in the form of a question?" I asked putting my hands on my hips impatiently.

"Okay," he replied, "Let's try it this way: What are you going to do?"

"Oh, that's easy. I am going to walk out that door, never look back and never regret my decision," I told him, desperately hoping it was true.

haiku

Little white faces

gaze from the shadows where once

troublesome weeds thrived.

Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [orange]

Every day when I walked out the front door, I paused to examine the buds on the vines growing along the walk. I hadn't seen their orange trumpet shaped flowers and was anxious to do so. I wanted to identify them which would be difficult from just the leaves. Besides, I wanted to see if they really did attract hummingbirds.

haiku

Lettuces that would

tempt Rapunzel's mother grow

in my own garden.

Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [yesterday]

Yesterday I was living in the past

desperately trying to hold onto memories

Today I am living in the now

taking time to smell the roses

Tomorrow I'll be living for the future

building on the dreams I dream today

shaped by thoughts of the yesterday

haiku [Sweet 100's]

Tomatoes the size

of peas cause as much fuss as

they will when they're ripe.

Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [hardly]

"I hardly think that's the point." He huffed at me, picking up another rock.

"Of course not, this is the point," I replied, poking him in the butt with the opposite end of the spear it had taken me much effort to craft.

"Ouch! Hey, cut that out! These animal hides aren't as thick as they look!"

haiku

I bring roses in

from the rain to enjoy them

without getting wet.

Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [zest]

I finally found the small grater and scraped some lemon zest onto the meringue. I had never made a lemon meringue pie before, and was quite nervous about it. So far it had been frighteningly easy. I was sure I must have forgotten something crucial that wouldn't become apparent until I tried to serve it.

haiku

Bold behind branches

barks the squirrel, scolding all those

beneath its bower.

Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [period]

"Now you listen to me. I am walking out of here...period...end of story. You will not follow me and you will not try to stop me."

"I will not."

"You won't?"

"No. I know where you are going and my ship is faster. I will merely be waiting for you when you arrive."

"Well ain't that a bitch!"

"Yes ma'am."

"I hate droids!"

haiku

I can almost hear

the lavender buds sigh as

they stretch toward the sun.

Photo by: Osquer

55 Fiction Friday

“Would he have shot the horse?”

“Oh, undoubtedly, m’lady. Your father was devoted to Her Grace. It was only her request that spared the brute’s life. She loved that horse and she was the only one that he would permit to ride him. Her gentleness tamed him.”

“Apparently he wasn’t the only one.” thought Jessica.

[FIRST] [PREVIOUS] (to be continued...)

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [foreign]

I didn't know where I was, but I was definitely in foreign waters. That's what I get for drinking with pirates until the rum is gone. I shook my head to clear it and was immediately grabbed by the bosun and put to work swabbing the deck. I had been press ganged! My disguise had been too good! What would they do when they discovered I was a woman?

haiku

Roses, heavy with

spring rain blush, their heads nodding

as they turn toward sleep.

Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [wrap] (for Jay)

I ran to the door to wrap my arms around my love and press my lips to his. I held my eyes closed for a long moment, hitting my mental reset button as I always did when my world became complete again, in his arms.

haiku (The Determined Poinysettia)

A year after its

blog debut, the Determined

Pointsettia survives!

Photo by: Osquer

It's the one year anniversary of the first photo on my blog. Since then I've posted at least one photo every day. Here's the post from a year ago:

The Determined Pointsettia



I give you "The Determined Pointsettia!" Would you believe I've had this thing since November? I usually can't get them to live past December! What can I say! Go Miracle Grow! This thing has been baking in the loft and it seems happy as anything even though I keep forgetting to water it!

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [disappointed]

I have to say that I wasn't disappointed in the third outing for the Black Pearl. I always did love pirates, but then what girl doesn't. They say fireman is considered the sexiest profession, but give me a pirate any day. You may think I'm drooling over Johnny Depp, but "my interests are not so provincial." Hector Barbossa is my captain!

haiku

Shy roses blush in

the garden, pale with this spring's

unseasonal heat.

Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [going]

"Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme..." I sang cheerily to the herbs as I tried to snake my fingers between them. I didn't exactly feel guilty about pulling the baby weeds from among my tender young plants, but I did note that while I celebrate diversity in most things, in gardening I am a bigoted segregationist.

haiku (for Mom)

"What's on the feeder?"

"The rose-breasted grosbeak you've

been talking about."

Photo by: Osquer

www.oneword.com - one word, so little time [memorial]

I’ve never had much use for funeral homes or cemeteries. I don’t find any purpose personally in a viewing. Looking at my loved one’s corpse isn’t going to make them any less dead or make me feel any better about it. When I die I would rather have a living memorial. Dig a hole, throw me in it, and plant a tree on top, or cremate me and mix me with concrete and add me to an artificial marine reef. I would rather life than sorrow come from my death.