Category Archives: Poets United
Desert Abundance
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Southern California.
The desert’s abundance may not be in fruit,
But rather in clouds or in owls that can hoot,
Or maybe in rattlers that slither and slide,
Or in the great thermals on which the hawks glide.
The stones are abundant, and so is the sand
Wherever you look in a dry, barren land.
It’s not as though nothing filled up the spaces
In the world’s wild and desolate places!
Poem © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
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More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Abundance”
Abundance
Abundance is plenty, so the wise say,
Plenty of apples, alfalfa, and hay;
Plenty of pollen for foraging bees,
Plenty of sunshine for grasses and trees;
Plenty of crickets for lizards and frogs,
Plenty of rain to grow moss upon logs.
With no abundance the world that you see
Just might be empty as empty can be.
So, cheers for abundance! All that it brings
Surely’s a blessing for all living things!
Poem © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Abundance”
More
Grapes ripen in the vineyard at San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum, Lodi, California.
The grapes on the vine are fatter than fat,
Soon they’ll go into the wine-making vat.
The honeycomb’s dripping with sweetness galore—
It’s autumn, and Earth’s crying out, “Have some more!”
Poem © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Abundance”
Seven Riffs on Leaves
Cottonwood leaf in autumn, Apache County, Arizona.
~~ ~~ 1 ~~ ~~
A hole in the fence:
Will I be able to see
the oak leaves falling?
~~ ~~ 2 ~~ ~~
on the dusty end
of my workshop’s topmost shelf:
three leaves from the oak
~~ ~~ 3 ~~ ~~
How strange the patterns
made by ginkgo leaves falling
into the gutter!
~~ ~~ 4 ~~ ~~
Under the plum tree
a cardboard box fills with leaves—
how tattered they look!
~~ ~~ 5 ~~ ~~
Near the tube station
we slog through wet autumn leaves,
eager to be home.
~~ ~~ 6 ~~ ~~
wherever I turn
in the last days of autumn:
sodden maple leaves
~~ ~~ 7 ~~ ~~
pieces of old dreams
some of them with falling leaves
some of them with stones
Haiku © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Sunday’s Whirligig #183
More Poetry Pantry #424 at Poets United
Presence
Daybreak in the Sonoran Desert, Yuma County, Arizona.
October morning—
an owl that no one can see
makes its presence known.
Haiku and photo © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
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More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Owl”
Owl
A great horned owl perches in a palo verde tree in the Sonoran Desert, Yuma County, Arizona.
One morning an owl in a tree
Appeared to be staring at me,
Or maybe he glared;
It’s not that I cared,
It’s just what owls do, don’t you see?
Limerick and photo © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Owl”
Autumn Leaves
Colorful aspen leaves, Lockett Meadow Campground, Coconino National Forest near Flagstaff, Arizona, autumn 2016.
~~ ~~ 1 ~~ ~~
tumult on my roof—
acorns and oak leaves thudding
till the storm is done
~~ ~~ 2 ~~ ~~
Since crowds delight you,
how can one falling oak leaf
give you so much joy?
~~ ~~ 3 ~~ ~~
Bring me one red leaf
from under the maple tree,
then leave me alone.
~~ ~~ 4 ~~ ~~
Such a waste of breath:
lamenting the leaves falling
from my backyard plum!
~~ ~~ 5 ~~ ~~
Two feral cats fight
among the falling oak leaves—
one gets bragging rights.
~~ ~~ 6 ~~ ~~
Blackbird, O blackbird,
how do you balance your song
on that falling leaf?
~~ ~~ 7 ~~ ~~
It is no great loss
to watch storm clouds disappear,
but when plum leaves fall…
Haiku © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Sunday’s Whirligig #182
More Poetry Pantry #423 at Poets United
Balance
Sunflower in an irrigated field, Southern Arizona
delicate balance—
halfway between earth and sky
a sunflower blooms
Haiku © 2018 and photo © 2013 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More SkyWatch Friday
More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Balance”
In the Balance
In the balance place your cup.
With great care then fill it up.
It will hold gold, salt, or tea—
It could even hold all three!
Top it with a sparrow’s song.
Fill your cup—don’t wait too long!
Poem © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Midweek Motif at Poets United: “Balance”
Jump-Rope Rhymes
Whether you divide or add,
Snow’s not green, you silly dad.
Breeze beneath the bright blue sky,
Teach me how to multiply.
Poppies then and poppies now,
Poppies for my uncle’s cow.
If an orange could subtract,
We’d be doomed—now, that’s a fact!
Couplets © 2018 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Sunday’s Whirligig #181
More Poetry Pantry #422 at Poets United
