gentle loving soul
possessed of many talents
a warrior’s heart
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in memory of Diane Smythe. I was not going to write for the last day of NaPoWriMo 2014, but felt compelled to do so for someone who had great personal courage and such a beautiful way of looking at her world.
small mouths being fed
fuel of the day for us all
loving kitchen sounds
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for day 29 of NaPoWriMo 2014
I sit in sun below a trellis
hung with jasmine
growing from a thick gray
twist of trunk
upper tendrils branch
green and lush budded
some just opened
their aroma floating out
on soft island drafts
trailers of delight
to lull us later
into perfumed sleep
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for day 28 of NaPoWriMo 2014
there are
bright flowers here,
blooms that seek the sun
not with the urgency I feel
after an eastern winter,
but with an easy thrust
and surfer’s nonchalance
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note: the profusion of blooming things & colors on Alameda is almost overwhelming. for Day 27 of NaPoWriMo 2014.
poem & photo copyright © 2014 KH Rantilla.
a lightning blaze of white
bisects his loving gaze
certain that the work he craves
lies with his people,
center of a now-rich world
in which he rests but lightly,
keeps watch often,
accepts kisses freely given
knows he has a place
forever.
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my son’s dog, Helo, is a smart, loving border collie pit mix. for day 26 of NaPoWriMo 2014.
at three miles up
ahead of our approach
clouds lie below
in lakes and ponds,
captive in still water
then morph to rippled
mercury from overhead
at four miles up
there is a gathering
of shapes and streaks
that overlay
emerging spring
and new sown crops
in game board green
and brown
at five miles up
the cotton candy skeins
and contrails loop
their downy shards,
above a layer
of pillowed white
at six miles up
we climb to leave
some windy bumps
from storms well masked
by gray, swept into
comb tracked dips
at seven miles up
there is a view of
earth again, at dusk,
our flight path is a
well lit layer.
we chase the sun
and distant clouds
between the deep blue
dome of space above
and purpling land below
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I wondered if a poem would come on this flight. it did. For day 24 of NaPoWrimo 2014
snow is late to leave
spring has come in full measure
no less welcome now
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for Day 21 of NaPoWriMo 2014. “better to be late than never” ~ Peter Sellers
a joy that renews
rebirth of life and hope
the woods are reborn
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for Day 20, Easter Sunday, NaPoWriMo 2014. catching up.
this new season
takes slow breaths
deep, silent, fresh
shaking off,
at times impatiently
the frozen crust
that claimed us all
for far too long
there is only gentleness
in her morning sighs today,
soft rain drops light
on flowers, birds and grass
and in my thoughts
startled, I see lilac buds
and they are green,
surely not since yesterday?
but, yes they are,
a swift and stealthy
gift from spring
and I bloom too
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spring is mercurial as we all know. two steps forward… for Day 23 of NaPoWriMo.
the dogs and I emerge
and head for freedom
tunneled through our woods,
a path of rich delights,
the sights and smells of life
lived on another scale,
returning home
renewed
today I feel connected
beyond my simple paradise,
as this glorious ship
sails through
the light and dark of space
as we live on her, taking
more than giving, plucking
fruits that may not
always grow again
and though some care,
the press of each day’s life
forces most to singular survival
not sure, or even caring
that the aggregated slag
of heedless use
will surely leach away
her life blood
and then ours
unless we love
our mother, steadfast
and protect her still rich bounty
simply for the joy
it brings us now
we will surely have denied
the birthright of
those loved ones
not yet born
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I have always loved the connectedness I feel on earth day. For Day 22 of NaPoWriMo 2014.
a snowless moon, if full
is no less bright
with patterned shadows
stretching over grass
and creeping up the outer walls,
those dark, strong arms
that cast their reach
like rod and line
out over streams,
a weightless overlay,
yet angular and hard.
my room is bright,
the window’s echo
stands in bold relief
against the wall,
angled down in stark perspective
as the moon begins to set.
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the moon, nearly full last night, cast amazing shadows both inside and outside, which stayed with me until I woke up this morning. Day 18 of NaPoWriMo 2014.
red squirrel is graceful
moving in then out for seeds
almost keeping time
I love the rhythmic movement of the squirrels at “their” feeder in the crotch of our apple tree, reaching down to take a seed, then up, then down again. For Day 17 of NaPoWriMo.
Life With Horace 