colors swirl-

seeing the world through her eyes,

each frog is a prince

(Original artwork by my 3-year-old...she has a deep love for all of God's tiny creatures, but frogs are her favorite. She told me that this is a frog stuck on the window. The colorful part is the frog and all the gray is the window. This just made me smile. I love to see the world through her lens of wonder.)

Moonlight Sonata

echoes from

an old radio-

you break my heart

again and again...

just before dawn,

birds greet the gray morning

in softest song-

first movement,

pianissimo

distant train

breaks the silence and

my concentration-

thoughts now heading north

on a one-way track...

midnight waltz

of words...swinging, dancing,

gently swaying words-

writing by lamplight

with my thesaurus

soaking

in moonlight-

leaves in the birdbath

so many words...

none of them necessary-

he speaks for himself

oh September...

you have crept in,

leaving only

the ghost of summer, and

stealing my heart once again

cool air

settles upon my corner
of the world-

listening to the sigh

of twilight...

small hands squeeze mine

'til the pulse of each heartbeat

is felt-hers

indistinguishable from

my own...

canopy

of yellow and green-

leaves and sweet dreams fall...

some days

I wish my pen would just

run out of ink-

searching for lost words

and someone else to blame...

inch by inch...
watching the sun dip below
the horizon-
time moves so slowly
when you are gone from me

bashful one-

face hidden behind

a veil of clouds

darkness falling

earlier than the night before-

decrescendo...

"penny for your thoughts,"

says the quarter moon

so sweetly-

I don't have the heart

to break it to him

strength to face

another grueling week-
found in the stillness...

God must be

a poet-

I see His verse

in the reflection of

mountains on shining water...

first cool night-

the breeze whispers sweet nothings

in the dark-

autumn romance

beginning early...

I wish I had written this poem! I am reading a book called Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School and this poem is featured. I just loved the picture that it painted in my mind, especially now that school is back in session and I am reminiscing about the summer. The poet is Debra Chandra. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to share it. It's not a tanka because of the syllables, but I love the way she did it. Breaking the line after summer and before breath almost makes it feel like catching your breath. I love it!!!

Suspense

Wide-eyed

the sunflowers

stare and catch their summer

breath, while I pause, holding basket

and shears.

-Debra Chandra