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Downplay
Discarded materials from a construction site gathering evening shadows, Southern Arizona
In a box of castoff wood,
Shadows do what shadows should:
Downplay darkness, accent light,
Making all the world seem right.
~~ ~~ ~~
Shadows find homes in strange places.
Text and photo © 2016 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Six-Word Saturday
More Shadow Shot Sunday 2
First Whirl of February
The first line of each breath-of-a-poem is taken from phrases found in A Year in the World by Frances Mayes.
~~ 1 ~~
their morning coffee—
spring, summer, fall, and winter
taking it with cream
~~ 2 ~~
on the balcony
sharing an afternoon drink
fragrant vin rosé
~~ 3 ~~
on an envelope
one thin line of poetry
trailing to the edge
~~ 4 ~~
clutching photographs
faded ones from long ago
in her tight right hand
~~ 5 ~~
a votive candle
casting a shadowy spell
in the holy place
~~ 6 ~~
through the spice bazaar
following an old woman
laden with saffron
~~ 7 ~~
open till midnight—
a sign taped to the window
restoring our hope
~~ 8 ~~
on a lamp table
two little stacks of spare change
enough for bus fare
~~ 9 ~~
from her only son
a letter written with flair—
loops and flourishes
~~ 10 ~~
a heap of rubble
where the freeway bridge once stood—
earthquake aftermath
© 2016 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 236
Quick Takes
Each little poem-breath begins with a phrase purloined from Paul Theroux’s Ghost Train to the Eastern Star.
~~ 1 ~~
In a stack of books
she finds a list of numbers—
pi comes at the end.
~~ 2 ~~
plump picture album—
placing it back on the shelf
to gorge on more dust
~~ 3 ~~
the little notebook—
holding it in her right hand
while the words quiver
~~ 4 ~~
shivering sparrows—
children say hello to them
but offer no cloaks
~~ 5 ~~
on a rusty bridge
she contemplates existence—
freight train bearing down
~~ 6 ~~
rain pelting sideways—
the monsoon’s monstrous power
lashing passersby
~~ 7 ~~
streets thick with traffic
not a single horn muffled—
such cacophony
~~ 8 ~~
an unlikely place
for a band of stomping monks—
the Doge’s palace
~~ 9 ~~
in a sacred place
the clamoring of pilgrims
not a whiff of prayer
~~ 10 ~~
praising the fish soup
in some strange piscine language—
old man of the sea
~~ 11 ~~
Amid the squalor
she hears the sizzle of fish
on an open fire.
~~ 12 ~~
in a yellow dish
a single shriveled lemon—
Van Gogh dips his brush
© 2014 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Poetry Pantry #205
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 164
