Hungry Squirrel climbs high
down chain links from house gutter
Sunflower seed prize
Hind feet lock tight grasp on roof
Anticipates flying leap
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Leap Year adds an extra day to February. Lisa at d’Verse asked us to write a poem of our choice that includes a form or leap. I am always amazed at a squirrel’s leaping ability.
Join us at: https://dversepoets.com
I was lost…totally lost in the pitch-black darkness. I climbed this ridge several times in the daylight, following the winding trail all the way to the top where we had set up camp. Now I was stumbling; tripping over rocks and branches as I wander off the trail. Why did I forget to bring my flashlight?
Talk of a mountain lion in the daylight brought no fear, but now, in the pitch dark, the reality presented itself with every distant rustle of the leaves and breaking of a branch. I pressed on climbing upward, feeling my way through the saplings, mountain laurel, and dead tree limbs. “The top can’t be too much farther.”
Suddenly. there is that unmistakable wine of a big cat; off in the distance, yet too close for comfort. Chills run up my spine, when far away an interrupted cry… silence!
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Bjorn at d’Verse introduced us to our new form to work with…Flash Fiction. He asked that it not be more than 144 words. It could be exactly 144 words as well. Mine is 144 words. We must use the given line from a poem somewhere in the story. Today it was “when far away an interrupted cry…”
Join us at: https://dversepoets.com
Supermunk pigs out
Bulging cheeks with summer seeds
Bars can’t contain him
Back to his dark nest
Storing seeds for winter’s cold
Supermunk climbs down
Skinnymunk returns
Engaging stretched slinky
Slipping right inside
Sneaky guy reloads
Sunflower seeds food of choice
Never ending treat
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Photos: Dwight L. Roth
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For another great read form Compost and Grace, check out stories of my dad. It will lift your spirits and scratch your nostalgic bone!!
https://uplandweb.wordpress.com/2018/06/19/stories-of-my-dad/
We think of mountains as lasting forever, but in reality they are constantly being worn down. As I age, I am like the mountain worn away left with the core of who I am. If a person takes time to connect and climb into my mind with me they will find a person who has lived life and has a lot of insights to share. All it takes is patience and time, both of which most people have very little.
I Am a Mountain
I am a mountain of a hundred thousand years
Standing in the midst of all that life throws at me
Once mellow and rolling with the flow
Worn down leaving my hard stately core
I am now jagged rugged with many peaks and valleys
Challenging any and all to climb and enjoy my view
Few try to scale my summit but those who do
Find a breathtaking view of the world they thought they knew
Forever changed in the vista of light and darkness
I am a rock of a hundred thousand years
Solid seemingly immovable your challenge rising
Yet forces greater than all of us dictate my life
This rugged rigid slowly changing monument of creation
Will not stand forever for all to view for all to climb
Take your chances hang on tightly strive to reach the top
It will be definitely worth your while to see
The world from my aging point of view
Of a hundred thousand years
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Photos of Grandfather Mountain, NC: Dwight L. Roth
Roth Poetry 