SONNET FOR AN APRIL MOON

The final April moon will soon take leave.
Contentedly, he navigates the sky.
He knows not that his passing makes us grieve,
Nor hears the tone of our collective sigh.

For thirty eves, the moon has cast his spell
Releasing inspiration from his core
Yet, now has come the time to say farewell,
As April’s moon will strum our hearts no more.

No gathering beneath his fetching smile,
Nor once-upon-a-timing ‘neath his glow.
Though next year, he will once again beguile;
Inspiring prose and verse to daily flow.

Our melancholy hearts will melt away,
For there will be a new moon come what May.

Marie Elena

HAIKU

Eerily flaming

Rising into Earth’s night sky

Rare parigee moon

 

Marie Elena

Photos by Keith R. Good

Keith captured these vastly different photos of the March 19, 2011 "supermoon" above the Maumee River.   

TIDES

Rising and falling,
sea birds calling
a trill, shrill
and resounding.
Surrounding the shore,
seaweed tossed and sands
of lost childhood, decay.
On a good day, you can see
clear across to Canada,
a cyclical sonata awash
in rushes and retreats.
Beneath the feet
of beachcombers, the warmth
of a million suns baking,
taking shells and driftwood;
a good haul for an early spring.
Still, the gulls sing
a redundant song, strong and shreiking.
Another wave rises, then beats
a hasty withdrawal. Through it all
you breathe the freshness abounding,
Rising and falling, your chest
duplicates the lunar lambada
of the Great Lake. Waters rake
the moistened sand on its departure.
Sunsets and crashes leaving colorful dashes
across the glinted surf. Tides return
to where they had come as the night descends.
Another day ends in the swell of tides.


Walt

SAIL

Unfurled, my canvas tightens,
taut and rigid in the strength
of a gale force wind. Beginning
and ending with the gusts
prevailing, sailing into the waters,
uncharted and unsure. It is purely
the epitome of self-sufficiency;
this proficiency so star-guided
provides me with the direction I crave.
In it, I am saved, a navigator of
life's currents. Wave after wave,
I am coaxed toward shore, for sure
more open waters await me.
My sole journey continues undeterred

 

 

Walt

LYRIC WATER REJOICES AT SEASIDE

The happy dead are in its voice.

Majestic Poet! Might I be as full of song.
Melodies of seafarers past

haunt each true and measured step.

Lilting, ever-lifting; a gift

from the weary mariner to Neptune’s ear.

Accompanied in breath and beat,

symphonic sound of a lunar baton.

Maestro of the night, unwavering.

Building to crescendo, euphonic.

Tympani, cacophonous crash;

an introduction to the score

so written. And hidden within

languishes its familiar song,

lyrical expressions of heart and soul,

left to wash away traces of the moment.

Never ending refrain, sing again!

**Derived from “On Seeing A Train Start For the Seaside” by English poet, Norman Rowland Gale

 

 

Walt

HARBOR

Golden silence
Silver moon
Lake’s alliance
Souls in tune

Marie Elena

ICE STORM ON MORIN POINT

As the temperature fell,
The landscape crystallized,
Mirroring endless candlelight moons.
Stationary waves graced the break wall;
Stopped cold in Erie’s path.

Marie Elena

Eerie Lake

A Great Lake,
connection betwixt Toledo and Buffalo
an Eerie bond.

On the shore
ripples of waves come crashing,
lashing the sand.

Children run freely,
splashing in the rising foam.
Roaming in surf.

Sea Gulls swoop
down to the water's edge,
dredging swimming morsels.

At evening's end,
the sun seeks refuge below,
amidst orange glow.

Erie finds rest,
to arise anew and refreshed.
Summer in Buffalo.



Walt

ALL TO CELEBRATE

In the starlit skies,
reflected upon the
gentle Erie rush
of wave and wind,
a star burst; bright and vivid,
livid with the explosion of color.
Shortly another flash,
varied and multi-colored
twinkles; a million glints
on these Great Lakes waters.
Scattered gulls honk in marvel
each burst bringing an avian
"ooh" and "aah". A moment
to raise our eyes and lift
our voices in remembrance,
as the fireworks display
fades into another rapid burst.


Walt

AFTERGLOW (NONET)

As the sun slips beneath the water,

Her afterglow lingers above -

Much to wooing moon’s delight.

And they bask in the glow

Those fleeting moments

They call their own,

As their hearts

Become

One

Marie Elena

HAIKU

Beneath Erie’s moon
Love’s eternal afterglow
Reveals halted dreams


Marie Elena

LET'S DANCE

The foyer is small. Manageable. The décor -- lovely. I linger a bit, as I assemble courage. Hesitantly, I enter the Great Hall. I find it grand and immense, accommodating a multitude. I am wholly overwhelmed. Surrounded by the beautiful, the finely adorned.

My modest cotton sheath is clearly inappropriate. Heart pounding, I want to flee. Yet spellbound, I linger. I watch. I eavesdrop. I cannot tear myself away.

Then, one notices my glances. Again, my heart pounds, as he offers a warm smile and nod. Is it genuine? A tender seed is planted.

Another catches my eye. She is altogether lovely, as she waltzes with ease and grace. I cannot take my eyes off her. She notices my stares, and responds with … a grateful smile? Can this be? The tender seed is watered.

Another whom I’d admired from afar takes my hand, and leads me to a moonlit window, clearly spotlighting me momentarily. The unexpected attention it brings makes me simultaneously ill at ease, and awkwardly grateful. The blush in my cheeks lingers, yet the tender seed takes root.

Others offer approving glances, gracious smiles. A young woman compliments my faux pearls; herself, adorned with genuine pearls of the highest quality, which she has been gleaning and stringing herself for many years. Yet her compliment is sincere, and the tender seed begins to sprout.

All at once, I feel myself being guided onto the dance floor. It’s him. He takes my left hand, and rests it in on his shoulder. He clasps my right, and places his hand gently on the small of my back. He guides effortlessly, teaching steps along the way. The tender seed begins to bud.

Marie Elena

THE TOUCH OF SUMMER

The soft summer sunset

places our silhouettes against the sky

and the cast of evening magic in your eyes.

The crash of the lake at our feet

is like the single sound of two hearts beating.

You, the gardener of my soul,

I am lost in the music of your laughter

and your gaze robs me of simple speech.

I love you with the truest love,

it is nothing compared to an eternity.

I find myself riding the red-eye to morning,

because you have charmed the love right out of my heart.

Your influence permeates everything I touch,

and the blessing of you has been a well dealt hand in my life.

I live every waking second in loving reflection of you.

Walt                                                                             Photo by Walt Wojtanik

EERIE HAIKU 3 - SEQUENCE 2

Harboring secrets,

lunar luminance pulls souls

into a whisper

Walt

EERIE HAIKU 2 - SEQUENCE 2

Night befalls the lake

vigilant moon eyes the shore

harboring secrets

Marie Elena

Photo by Keith Good

LOVE IN THE PULL OF TIDES

The crash of waves hypnotizes,
repetitive and refreshing,
it calls a resounding greeting,
in the shadow of its lunar engine.
A cyclical flow of an ebbing heart;
the give and take of passion's thunder,
going under for the third time, a surrender
unending, unconditional and unfettered.


Walt 

IN THE GLINT OF MOONLIGHT

Placid. Silent. Serene.
In the glint of moonlight,
you reverberate in my heart.
I had returned, as promised,
to this place we held dear. Right here.
Where the stars are so clear,
and the shadows cast on this stretch of sand,
point to a section of beach. Our oasis.
The call of the sea birds becomes
a soundtrack of sorts. And the crash of
Erie against the shore, stands as the only view
for my sad and longing heart..
Shards of moonlight dance, as scattered
as broken glass, across the water's murkiness,
and in the glint of moonlight I remember.
Breathless and nervous, we were.
Loving and passionate, we were.
And so in love. We were
where we were meant to be.
The heat of that moment warmed
the sand beneath my feet and
you filled my heart as you did then.
In the glint of moonlight I felt
the warmth of your smile
and the sparkle your eyes left behind,
lit this evening sky. And I fell in love again.
In the glint of moonlight.


Walt