Disappearing Footprints

The Oregon coast is a wonderful place to visit. We hiked down the long set of stairs to the beach below. An old man rested on the bench with his dog. He lives nearby and hikes down and up those stairs every day. A rest was needed for some of us at bottom and top. The ocean coastline with all its beauty also holds dangers of slipping and falling over the edge. Warning signs posted tell us to stay back. The breathtaking view makes it all worthwhile!

Hiking on the beach

Our footprints gone with high tide

Only sand remains

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse Frank asked us to write a Monday Haibun using the word hike. A haibun is a short piece of prose followed by a complimentary haiku.

Last October we attended our niece’s wedding. While there we traveled to the coast and spent a couple of days enjoying the glorious view. My haibun today is about our time hiking on the beach.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

Finding Lunch

Last week the heat of summer went down to the low eighties, so I decided to dabble in my painting again for a change. I paint in my garage, so I don’t get much done in the middle of the summer. I decided to paint a Blue Heron wading in the shallows looking for food.

Blue Heron wades through marsh

Eyeing green frogs’ slight movements

Crawdads hide in muck

*****

Blue Heron Painting: Dwight L. Roth

Butterflies Buffet

Every summer Butterflies arrive to enjoy my blooming flowers. Like travelers on the interstate, they stop and refresh themselves with nutrients to sustain them on their way. Leaving their eggs and chrysalises behind they carry on year after year. They are a joy to behold, as they flit from flower to flower probing for nectar in each tiny yellow stamen. All the while they pollinate my Zinnias for next years planting.

Nature’s bright colors

Displayed in shining glory

Butterfly buffet

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Crossroad

We are at a crossroad of the mind

Not of dirt and gravel // asphalt or cement

Rather, a crossroad of thinking…

One that permeates our being.

Elections are not about the man or woman

They are about a mindset

A way of thinking that affects attitudes and actions.

It is so easy to get lost in the superficial

Age, gender, personality, party, or politics;

But it is much deeper than that…

Elections are crossroads of the mind;

Forever changing the landscape of thinking;

Changes that cannot be reversed only adjusted.

Elections often come with lies and broken promises;

Expectations that repeatedly remain unfulfilled

Leaving us disillusioned at the next crossroad.

Remember, you are not choosing a person

You are choosing a mindset for the future.

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Turtled

Black Turtle peninsulaed on mud

Solared in the sunshine he bathes

Blood veins freely through his labyrinth

Nerving throughout shelled synapses

Tingles summered in brained memory

Reminding him of algaed Myrtle

Logged down the way mirrored and smooth

Waiting for him to get unshelled

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse, Bjorn asked us to rethink our use of verbs. He wanted us to choose some nouns to turn into verbs and then write our poem around them. I saw this big old turtle a few weeks back at the local park. He seemed to be a good subject. Hope you enjoy untangling my noun/verbs. I think I got a few noun/adjectives as well.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

Head Banging

Watching change taking place in my lifetime makes me conclude that it doesn’t happen quickly. Seems like paradigm shifts are happening all around, demanding immediate changes in society. History shows us it may take awhile.

Ocean’s white head slams

Against solid rocks of time

Change happens slowly

White foam creates a big splash

Hard heads take time to erode

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Food for Thought

Wheat pours from the spout

Provides food for all of us

Natures golden grain

Wheat fields make way for houses

Farmers gone // who feeds us then?

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse, we are writing a poem on the prompt Wheat. Wheat is essential to life on earth, providing food for millions of people. The wheat field above is adjacent to the development where I live. This past year construction of a new housing development has started on our side of the highway. The county has rezoned the big wheat field across the road for housing as well. Who will feed us when farmers have all sold out to developers! We just assume bread will always be on the grocery shelves.

Join us at: https://dversepoet.com

Bummer!

There was an old poet named Ovid

who hid in his house during Covid

He sat in his chair

on his big derriere

And his bum got as got as wide as a stove lid

*****

My bum-moral story my friends

Get off your bum!!

Today at d’Verse, Dee Jackson asked us to write a Quadrille of 44 words using the word Bum!! I decided to do a silly limerick for a change! Hope it makes you smile!

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

Beauty on Beauty

There you were in the middle of my shot

Resting on a petal sunning yourself

Surfing all that beauty

Drowning in light

Reflecting every minute detail

Flawless yet simple

Elegant

An engineering work of infinitesimal design

A gift from the creator of all wonders

The image of excellence

Beauty on beauty

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Note; I just received my copy of the new North Carolina Bards Charlotte Poetry Anthology this week. I am proud and honored that my poem, Cobwebs of the Blue Ridge, was included in this collection.

He’s Gone!

Inhaling smoke from your flame

Burning in the heat of the moment

You were warned, you were told

Did you listen? No!

Now you will burn

Like flash paper in a magician’s hand

Combustible feelings up in smoke

That mind-blowing moment gone

Your all-consuming desire

Not quite what you expected

Leaving ashes for memories

Dust in the wind

He’s gone!

Painting: Dwight L. Roth