Beauty

Call Me Superficial

/ rothpoetry / 45 Comments

Call Me Superficial

Call me superficial when seeing a picture

Causes words to escape me

When beauty take precedence over substance

And I am drawn by what my eyes behold

Call me superficial when a picture in a story

Catches my attention and sets my mind on the fire

My imagination soars and transports my soul

To realms beyond word or pen

Call me superficial when melody and harmony

Lift my spirit from the very first note

Only to be followed by words

Adding to or taking away my feeling of awe

Call me superficial when the background blurs

Seven layers deep

And the last brush stroke is the first I see

All that work labor and toil

Only to end in an accent of light against dark

Beauty against substance

Painting: Dwight L. Roth

I decided to repost one of my favorite posts from a few years ago. It describes how I feel about life, art, and people. I have heard people say first impressions are so important. For me that is true, especially in blogging. When there are so many bloggers out there hoping to get me to read their posts, presentation is very important. Photos, paintings, titles, designs, and format are what grab me. Call me lazy, but if I have to work too hard to read your blog, I move on to one that takes less effort. That is one reason why I have not left the free WP blogging page. I don’t want you to be distracted with the sidebars and extras. Thanks for reading, liking, and commenting. I appreciate all of you more than you know.

Beyond Brokenness

/ rothpoetry / 57 Comments

Broken

What do you see when something is broken

An object to discard

Or an object restored

Half-full or half-empty

Perspective is everything

Affects all of life

We all become broken

At some time in our life

Thinking we are beyond repair

But God sees us otherwise

And restores us with his grace

His perspective

His Love

Are always there

We always have our place

Way beyond

What we could ask or think

Jose Ramirez – 1937

Photos & Painting: Dwight L. Roth

Lilacs Still Bloom

/ rothpoetry / 49 Comments

One of my mom’s favorite flowers was the sweet smelling lilac that grew near our driveway. I planted this bush to remind me of her. It is hard to imagine that it is fourteen years since she passed away. Her memory is always with me in so many little ways.

Mother’s Day

Memories of Mom linger sweet

Lilacs bloom each Spring

Photo’s Dwight L. Roth

Cherry Blossoms

/ rothpoetry / 45 Comments

Cherry blossoms lead the Spring parade. Along with flowering pear, and redbuds they provide a glorious silhouette against the deep blue sky. I took this photo in my neighborhood this morning. Cherry blossoms are a great symbol of new life and light as we lead into Easter this coming weekend.

Cherry blossoms shine

Painting warm soft spring snowflakes

Soon wrapped in deep green

At d’Verse, Frank asked us to write our Monday Haibun on the theme of cherry blossoms. I waited to post till today so I could show you the beautiful cherry blossoms I see as I pass in and out of my neighborhood.

Join us at: https://dverse poets.com

Nature’s Outie

/ rothpoetry / 65 Comments

Dried stretchmarks wrap around sawed-off knots

Straining against pregnant life swelling within

Nature’s outie / where life separated from life

Puckered up smirking at everyone who comes by

Covering scars of knots buried / healing over time

Creating a beauty all its own

enjoyed by all

***

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse, Mish asked us to write a Quadrille of exactly 44 words using some form or the word knot. I saw these knots on the side of a tree when we were at the park a couple of weeks ago. I thought they were interesting, so I took a couple of photos of them.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com then click on Mr. Linkey to read more.

Big Valley Pennsylvania (Travel)

/ rothpoetry / 58 Comments

Horses and buggies can be found clopping up and down the roads of Kishacoquillas Valley in Central Pennsylvania. Big Valley lies between the towns of Lewistown and Huntingdon. It is the home of a great number of Amish and Mennonite Farmers, who, along with many others farm, this beautiful valley. People there refer to their home as Big Valley. It is the home of many of my ancestors on both sides of my family. It is one of the most beautiful places in the country. These are a few of the sights you might see on a visit there.

Memories and roots

grow deep in rich black soil

Ancestors rest here

My mother’s home
My father’s home
The Crossroad

A Taste of November

/ rothpoetry / 83 Comments

I can still remember, like it was yesterday

Fall in the woods where I grew up

Cold weather closed in early

Leaves in the woods

Turned shades of yellow, orange, red, and brown

What was once a lush woods

Filled with green hollow stemmed weeds

Now becomes blanketed

With a soft silent coating of leaves

The Silver Maple and Butternut next to the house

Dropped their yellow-tan leaves

The quince turned yellow-brown

As the apple trees added color to the scene

With rich deep red leaves…

On the driveway black walnuts still in the hulls

Driven over with car tires

Squishing and shelling

Picking them up, peeling off the excess

While blends of saffron, amber, and walnut stains

Are left on my hands and under my nails

From driveway to furnace room

Down in the basement

The nuts are carried to be dried

Cracked with hammer and brick

I walk through the woods,

With a borrowed single-shot 12 gauge,

Looking in the pit holes for rabbits,

Flushing out a ring-necked pheasant

From the edge of the corn field

Life was simple then,

Rabbits shot were few and pheasants even fewer

But walking through the woods and fields

Was an experience I enjoyed

Just for the sake of being there

The November woods remained stark and bare

For the rest of the winter,

But it’s passing and recurring beauty

Left indelible impressions…

Sometimes I wish I could be there once again.

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse, Sanaa asked us to were a poem about November. I decided to rework a poem I wrote several years ago about Fall in the Woods where I grew up.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com