Seeking One Ripe Plum
Posted by magicalmysticalteacher

~~ 1 ~~
Seeking one ripe plum,
I approach the laden tree
with a grateful heart.
~~ 2 ~~
seeking one ripe plum
behind the blue pantry door—
no one has a key
~~ 3 ~~
Seeking one ripe plum
to split among my children—
each will taste a slice.
~~ 4 ~~
seeking one ripe plum
to the east of the grain field—
three crows menace me
~~ 5 ~~
seeking one ripe plum
to give to the single mom
in Apartment 3
~~ 6 ~~
Seeking one ripe plum
I scratch my head in wonder
before the gnarled tree.
~~ 7 ~~
seeking one ripe plum—
depending on the moon’s phase
I might find seven
~~ 8 ~~
seeking one ripe plum
while the player piano
rolls out tinkly tunes
~~ 9 ~~
seeking one ripe plum
for the youngest of my sons—
his birthday present
~~ 10 ~~
Seeking one ripe plum—
the glint in her eye tells me
she’ll split the bounty.
~~ 11 ~~
seeking one ripe plum
on a level garden path
wingless butterfly
~~ 12 ~~
seeking one ripe plum
while spiders attach their webs
to my eyes and ears
© 2014 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Poetry Pantry #207
More Sunday Scribblings 2: “Plum”
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 167
Posted on June 29, 2014, in 5-7-5, Sunday Scribblings 2, The Poetry Pantry, The Sunday Whirl and tagged approach, attach, each, glint, grain, key, level, phase, player, present, scratch, single. Bookmark the permalink. 36 Comments.
Please Leave a Reply Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Categories
- (Silly) Haiku Wednesday
- 2-4-2
- 3-5-3
- 3-5-3-5-5
- 4-6-4
- 5-7-5
- 5-7-5-7-7
- A Prompt Each Day
- A Virgin a Day
- acrostic poems
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
- administrators
- Adrienne Rich
- Advent
- agave
- Ajo
- Ajo Mountains
- Alameda García de la Cadena
- Alberto Álvaro Ríos
- Alexey Andreyev
- Alhondiga de Ganaditas
- Alpine
- American history
- American presidents
- Amy Clampitt
- Anado McLauchlin
- Animas River
- Anza-Borrego Desert
- Apache County
- aphorism
- Arizona
- arroyo
- aster
- Atotonilco
- autumn
- Aztec
- Aztec Ruins
- back to school
- Baja California
- Baja California Norte
- Balboa Park
- Bandelier National Monument
- bandera
- Basho
- Beavertail cactus
- Benjamin Alire Sáenz
- bereavement
- Bible
- billboard
- birthday
- bitterness
- blessings
- Blog Blast for Peace
- blossom
- Blue Monday
- blues
- Bob Atkinson
- Bonelli House
- books
- Border Field State Park
- Breyten Breytenbach
- brittlebush
- Buson
- Cabrillo National Monument
- Cache la Poudre River
- cactus
- Calif.
- California
- California buckwheat
- Canada
- Carl Sandburg
- Carpe Diem
- Carry on Tuesday
- caterpillar
- cathedral
- Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi
- Cézanne
- cemetery
- Cerro de la Bufa
- change
- Chinatown
- Chiyo-Ni
- Cholla cactus
- Cholula
- Christ Child
- Christ Church Cathedral
- Christmas
- chuparosa
- church
- Cieneguita
- Circle of Love for Spadoman
- civility
- classroom
- classroom management
- Clifton
- clowns
- cobblestones
- Coconino County
- Coconino National Forest
- collegiality
- Colorado
- comprehension
- conscientious objection
- consequences
- Counted verse
- County Dublin
- couplets
- CPR
- creosote bush
- cut-and-pasted poems
- dandelion
- dawn
- daybreak
- death
- decisions
- defiance
- desert
- desert agave
- desert willow
- Dia de Bloglandia
- Dia de Los Muertos
- Diamond Head
- diamondback rattlesnake
- dilemma
- disciple
- distillation
- dodoitsu
- Donald Hall
- door
- Dorland Mountain Arts Colony
- Down syndrome
- Dublin
- dusk
- earthquake
- Ein Stück Himmel
- El Charco del Ingenio
- elderly
- encouraging words
- end of school year
- end of summer
- Ernest Hemingway
- erode
- Escondido
- evaluation
- evening sky
- Ewa
- Ezra Pound
- Fairy Duster
- faith
- fall
- family
- Farmington
- Father's Day
- Fay Aoyagi
- Fábrica La Aurora
- fence
- figurative language
- first aid
- first days of school
- First of the Month
- First-year teacher
- Flagstaff
- Floral Friday Fotos
- flowers
- Fort Collins
- Fotokalender
- found poems
- fountain
- free form haiku
- freebies
- freestyle
- Friday's Fences
- frost
- Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery
- full moon
- Fuyuko Tomita
- Gabriel García Márquez
- Galway Kinnell
- garden
- gardening
- gifts
- Gila Bend
- Glasnevin Museum
- Glendale
- Globe Mallow
- grades
- grading
- grandmother
- Granite Mountain Hotshots
- Guachimontones
- Guadalajara
- Guadalupe
- Guadalupe Mountains National Park
- Guanajuato
- guidance
- Guinness
- haibun
- haiga
- haiku
- Haiku Bones
- Haiku Friday
- Haiku Heights
- Haiku Horizons
- Haiku My Heart
- Haiku My Heart Friday
- Haiku Rebecca's Heart
- Haiku the Heart of Joe Spadoman
- Haiti
- Halloween
- Hando
- harvest
- Hawaii
- heart
- hedgehog cactus
- Hi Jolly Cemetery
- hidden
- Highlight Sunday
- highly qualified teachers
- hillside
- Himmelsk
- holy
- holy ground
- homecoming
- honeybee
- Honolulu
- hope
- Horsetooth Reservoir
- Howth
- Hubbell Trading Post
- Huichol
- humor
- Hump Day Haiku
- I Heart Macro
- idiocy
- Iio Sogi
- illiteracy
- imagery
- Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area
- in-service
- indigo bush
- indolence
- insomnia
- IOOF Cemetery
- iPhone
- Ireland
- iris
- ironwood
- irony
- Issa
- Jack Kerouac
- Jalisco
- James Connolly
- Jane Kenyon
- Jane Reichhold
- Japanese Friendship Garden
- Japanese Literature Challenge 3
- Japanese poetry
- Jardín Juárez
- Jerry Kilbride
- Jesus
- Jim Kacian
- job hunt
- John Stevenson
- Joseph Wood Krutch
- journey
- joy
- Kaibab National Forest
- Kala Ramesh
- Kamishibai
- Kentucky
- kid talk
- kidspeak
- Kikaku
- Kikusha-Ni
- Kilmainham Gaol
- kindness
- King James Version
- Kingman
- Kofa National Wildlife Refuge
- koi
- Kuan Yin Temple
- Kyoshi Takahama
- La Calaca Love
- La Cieneguita
- La Virgen de Guadalupe
- Laie
- Lake Skinner
- language arts
- Latin
- laughter
- leadership
- learning
- Lee Gurga
- Lent
- lesson plans
- lessons
- Lexington
- Life in Pictures
- light verse
- lighthouse
- limerick
- listening
- Long Beach
- longevity
- Looking at the Sky on Friday
- Los Algodones
- lullaby
- Luna
- Luna Cemetery
- Macro Flowers Saturday
- Macro Monday
- Macro Monday 2
- Makaha
- Malecón
- Mandagstema
- Margaret Chula
- Maricopa County
- market
- Mary Cassatt
- Masaoka Shiki
- Maya Angelou
- Mellow Yellow Monday
- Memorial Day
- mentors
- mercado
- merit pay
- mesquite
- Messy Little Details
- metaphors
- Mexico
- Mexico Mondays
- Michoacán
- middle school
- Midweek Motif
- Miguel Hidalgo
- Mina el Edén
- Mindlovemisery's Menagerie
- Mission Quite Possible
- Mission San Antonio de Pala
- Mission San Juan Capistrano
- Mission San Xavier del Bac
- mnemonics
- Monday Mellow Yellows
- Monday Poetry Train Revisited
- Monday Wordle
- Monday WRites
- Mondays with Mary
- Morelia
- morning glory
- Mornings with Mary
- Moses
- Mrs. Scribe's Poetry Slam
- Mundo Cuervo
- Murrieta
- Museo de Guadalupe
- Museo Zacatecano
- my digital photos
- my dodoitsu
- my haiku
- my light verse
- my limerick
- my poetry
- my senryu
- my tanka
- NaHaiWriMo
- NaiSaiKu
- Nanakuli
- Naomi Shihab Nye
- NaPoWriMo
- National Botanic Gardens
- national monumnet
- Navajo National Monument
- NCLB
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- New Testament
- New Year
- Northern Arizona
- Northern California
- Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
- nun
- O. Mabson Southard
- Oahu
- observe
- ocotillo
- old age
- Old Point Loma Lighthouse
- Old Testament
- One Shot Wednesday
- One Single Impression
- OneWord
- Onitsura
- Oregon
- Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
- Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission
- Our World Tuesday
- Painted Rock Petroglyph Site
- Pala
- Palacio de Gobierno
- Palo verde tree
- Panama
- Pantry of Prose
- parades
- patience
- peace
- Pearl Harbor
- Pecos National Historical Park
- Peggy Willis Lyles
- Phoenix
- Photo Time
- Pi-Ku
- PicStory
- pigeons
- Pima County
- Pinal County
- Pipe Spring National Monument
- poet
- Poetic Bloomings
- poetry
- Poetry Jam
- Poetry Pantry
- Poetry Picnic
- Poetry Tow Truck
- Poetry Train
- Poets & Storytellers United
- Poets United
- Poets United Midweek Motif
- Point Loma
- politics
- Polynesian Cultural Center
- Post Your Poems Day
- Postcards from Paradise
- Postcards from the Edge
- pray
- Pray-As-You-Go
- praying
- Prescott
- Prickly Poppy
- profanity
- prose
- Proverbs
- Psalm Challenge
- Psalms
- pubs
- Puebla
- Puerto Nuevo
- Puerto Vallarta
- Punchbowl
- Quartzsite
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Rancho Los Alamitos
- random rhymes
- re-teaching
- reading
- Real Toads
- Recuerda Mi Corazon
- recycling
- Red Hot Mondays
- REDnesday
- Rednesday Wednesday
- reflections
- relationships
- Rhyming poetry
- Richard Shelton
- Richard Wright
- Riverside Art Museum
- Robert B. Parker
- Robert Bly
- Robert Frost
- Robert Hass
- Robert J. Moody Demonstration Garden
- Robinson Jeffers
- rooftops
- rose
- Roxaboxen Park
- Ruby Tuesday
- Ruby Tuesday 2
- Ruby Tuesday Too
- Sacred Heart Church
- safety
- saguaro cactus
- Saguaro National Park
- salt cedar
- San Andrés Cholula
- San Diego
- San Diego County
- San Felipe Dogweed
- San Juan County
- San Miguel de Allende
- San Sebastian
- San Sebastián del Oeste
- Sandycove
- Sanguinetti House
- Santa Fe
- Santa Fe National Cemetery
- Santa Margarita River Trail
- Santa Rosa Plateau
- Santo Niño de Atocha
- Santoka Taneda
- Santuario de Atotonilco
- Santuario de Chimayo
- Scenic Weekends
- school
- scorpion
- Scottsdale
- Scripture
- Scripture for the day
- Seattle
- Sedona
- seedtime
- senryu
- Sensational Haiku Wednesday
- September Heights
- September Heights 2013
- seventh grade
- Shadow Shot Sunday
- Shadow Shot Sunday 2
- shadows
- Share the Joy
- Share the Joy Thursday
- Shiba Sonome
- Shiki
- Shine the Divine
- Short Story Slam
- Shu Ting
- similes
- singing
- Six-Word Saturday
- Sky Watch Friday
- SkyFriday
- snake
- snow
- Soen Nakagawa
- Sonoran Desert
- Southern Arizona
- Southern California
- Southern Mojave Desert
- special education
- special education teacher
- spider
- St. John's Catholic Cemetery
- St. Thomas Indian Mission
- stairs
- Stanley Kunitz
- stones
- storytelling
- Straight Out of the Camera Sunday
- strawberry cactus
- strengths
- student art
- students
- Stumbling Towards Ecstasy
- success
- suicide
- Sumitaku Kenshin
- summer
- summer school
- Sunday Scribblings
- Sunday Scribblings 2
- Sunday's Whirligig
- sundown
- sunflowers
- sunrise
- sunset
- Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
- surviving
- Tackle It Tuesday
- Takarai Kikaku
- tamarisk
- tan renga
- tanka
- teacher
- teaching
- Teddy Bear Cholla
- teleférico
- Temecula
- temple
- Templo de Fátima
- Templo de Guadalupito
- Tequila
- tests
- Teuchitlán
- Texas
- thankfulness
- thanks
- thanksgiving
- The April Heights 2012
- The April Heights 2013
- The Art of Remembering
- The Haiku Challenge 2012
- The Height of Haiku Challenge
- The One-Minute Writer
- The Poetry Pantry
- The Purple Treehouse
- The Sunday Whirl
- The Think Tank Thursday
- The Thursday Think Tank
- The Whirligig
- thinking
- Three Word Wednesday
- Thursday 13
- Thursday Challenge
- Thursday Poets' Rally
- Thursday Think Tank
- Tijuana Estuary
- Time Glass
- Tina's PicStory
- tired
- Tlaquepaque
- Tomas Tranströmer
- Tonalá
- travel
- Travel Photo Mondays
- true tale
- tsunami
- Tucson
- turf wars
- turtle
- tutoring
- Twelve Days of Mary
- Twelve Days of Mother Love
- twilight
- Uncategorized
- understanding
- unfinished work
- Unicorn plant
- USS Arizona
- Utah
- Valles Caldera National Preserve
- Vancouver Island
- Verse First
- Village Jazz Series
- Virgin
- vision
- vocabulary
- Waianae
- Walt Whitman
- war
- Watery Wednesday
- wayside shrine
- We Write Poems
- weariness
- Wednesday Waters
- weeds
- Weekday Photos
- Weekend Mailbox
- Weekend Reflections
- Wellton Memorial Cemetery
- Wendell Berry
- whimsy
- whisper
- White Sands National Monument
- White-lined Sphinx
- wilderness
- Wilderness Gardens Preserve
- wildflowers
- William Butler Yeats
- Winchester
- wine country
- winter
- Winterhaven
- wisdom
- Wixáritari
- Wonder Wednesday
- Wordless Wednesday
- work
- World War II
- Writers' Pantry
- writing
- Wupatki National Monument
- Yamanoue no Okura
- Yarnell Hill Fire
- Yavapai County
- Yokohama Bay
- Yozakura
- Yu Chang
- yucca
- Yuma
- Yuma Conservation Garden
- Yuma County
- Yuma East Wetlands
- Yuma Pioneer Cemetery
- Yuma Quartermaster Depot
- Zacatecas
- Zapopan
This is so perfect. Like a complete poem with those repetitions – I would go so far as saying that you have invented a new form. It has the strength of a Villanelle but rooted in the haiku tradition.
LOVE! perfect. A blackbird of an absent plum of a poem. Thank you.
Thank you! The plum is definitely the missing centerpiece! 😉
Every one a plum MMT 😉
They are elusive those plums…maybe that’s what makes them so special to pass along – 5 is my favourite this week
The repeating format adds interest to the wordle words.
Curiously what comes across with all of these is a memory of a simpler life, where small things are appreciated and help is freely given to others. Just one ripe plum but a wealth of friendship.
A beautiful set. I do like the idea of gratitude when I read the first one. We seek only one (plum or anything) and we find we have many, many more than we need. This Sunday I am grateful.
Interesting that your pieces are so full of color, even though you don’t mentions their names too often….(1)plums=red violet, laden tree= perhaps red and green,(2) red violet=blue door and gold=key, (4) red violet, gold, and black,(6) red violet, gnarled tree=green and maybe brown, red violet, the dark blue of the nighttime sky, and the silver of the moon and on and on…..
Thanks for pointing out “the hidden,” Annell!
Love it! All of them!!!
Enjoyed the repeating first line because in my mind, it became one long piece. You amazed me again.
Perfect! Wonderful! Well written!
what a wonderful and lovely take. this gave me a true appreciation of the richness of ‘a plum’. always have loved them. gracias
This is great! I especially liked number 5. I am a *very* new teacher and planning to try out haiku on Wednesday with my students… so this was inspiring 🙂
Good luck with the haiku. A word of caution: Everything written in 5-7-5 format is not necessarily haiku!
I LOVE this series of plum poems, and all of the potential recipients. Very cool.
A little koan for you this Sunday morning: How do you handle a hot plum? 😉
Brilliant! Enough plums for a pudding there!
If pudding is your desire, then pudding you shall have! 😉
Beautifully done! The second one is my favorite.
Again, I have no favorite. The whole of it speaks deeply of a wise, accepting, and generous spirit. The plum is perfect because its deep purple color speaks to personal power, and you wield it wisely and well. You have created a deep purple path that I hope many will follow,
Elizabeth
http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/
Sparkly and inventive work – glad I dropped by again… With Best Wishes Scott http://www.scotthastie.com
You’re done so much delicious verses with that one plum, you are amazing, have a nice Sunday
Much love…
Haha, the last one – winner…for me ~ sounds like a proverb!
This is so creative. I like the gratitude, the attitude of giving and sharing in this. The last one baffled me a bit, but guess we all seek a ripe plum when a web shades our eyes and closes our ears. Very well done!
Sometimes bafflement is the way of haiku! 😉
Wow!!! this was a masterpiece. really loved the consistency of the 5-7-5 structure. I enjoyed this, thanks!!!
Very good, I did have a chuckle with 3. First read, I thought you wrote spit instead of split. Must be my old age catching up with me.
“Spit” might work! 😉
I REALLY enjoyed this piece. It’s very enigmatic in its simplicity.
Such a lovely tale of plums!
seeking one ripe plum
mystical teacher inspired
his greatful readers
😉 Bastet
http://bastetandsekhmet.wordpress.com/2014/06/30/sunday-whirl-june-29-2014/
Ah…..I’m never disappointed when I visit you, the ‘mast-ress.’ And you have managed to honor not one but two poets and do them both justice! Bravo, teacher. Now i’m going to the store for some ripe plums!
As always I love your interconnected haiku. I find myself seeking one ripe plum, except it would be for me a nectarines! Great work!
I love the use of the plum in each one, mmt. Very nice each one.
Pamela
Great set!