Amber Gold

I rise like the sun
mornings amid amber gold

a wince, and a nod
untie the ties that bind —
rebooting

time
and those in, and out of rhyme —
dancing

to tunes known
and unknown

a home
boycotting
the status quo

are jewels of existence
dwelling within those that grow


Image Darkmoon_Art, Pixabay

Twitter #vss365 prompt words used: charcoal. Follow me on Twitter here, and Instagram here.


Jeff Flesch

#1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Jan/Feb 2022 Author of the Month, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #amber-gold, #change, #cosmic, #dancing, #disruptive, #existence, #flow, #growth, #justice, #life, #love, #nature, #no-time, #poem, #resilience, #sun, #time, #universe

cascading horizon

I wake up to you
you remind me of the brilliance
of afternoon sunsets
and

of morning dew
cascading

over a horizon filled
with pain, and with healing

a presence of colors, ambiguous
yet just enough
to

fill the space
left

by the absence of your touch


Photo by me, Oregon Coast


New Publications

I am pleased to announce that my poem, Misty Morning, is now available at MasticadoresIndia. Thank you to Terveen Gill, and the team at MasticadoresIndia for their continued support, and for publishing this piece. You can read the full poem here.

AND

I am also pleased to announce that my poem, Autumn Morning is now available at Spillwords Press. A big thank you to Dagmara K., and the whole team at Spillwords for publishing this piece, and for their continued support. You can read the full poem here.

I would be honored if you would read both poems, thank you!

Photo Gallery

My time at the coast is always precious to me. Early morning walks along the beach provide a space for deep reflection and contemplation. This year, I stayed at a small little motel right on the oceanfront. Amazing views from my room, and easy access to the beach, where walking for miles is possible. Beautiful, invigorating, and peaceful.

Wishing you a wonderful week.

All my love and blessings,

Jeff


Jeff Flesch

#1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Jan/Feb 2022 Author of the Month, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #emotion, #feeling, #healing, #human-connection, #knowledge, #life, #loss, #love, #masticadoresindia, #nature, #oregon-coast, #pain, #poem, #resilience, #romance, #spillwords-press, #sunset, #travel, #understanding

sun rising

I learned about love
when young
and

impressionable

a life, nobody knows but
me

listening to the wind
I

allowed feelings to
arise within

just as they should be
eyes

always watching, growth come
up and
in

a sun rising, at the horizons end


Photo by 8385, Pixabay

Twitter #vss365 prompt words used: nobody, eyes. Follow me on Twitter here.


Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #arising, #contemplation, #feelings, #growth, #introspection, #learning, #life, #listen, #love, #nature, #poem, #resilience, #rising, #sun, #young

#NatureSpeaks: 30 #Poems in 30 Days – Day 23: Gift From The Sea, by Selma Martin

I am not jealous of the rocks
that dwell deep in the ocean bed
they have nothing to covet;
nothing to look forward to
(scoff)
but for sore backs from laying stiff
under kelp beds in seagrass–
as threshing sea-doormats
— and perhaps of sand in their eyes
but I suppose I’m predisposed to
how heavy its shoulders must be
when my avant-garde gauge
is the emptiness I suffer
after yet one more mate left my bed
I met a starfish at the shore the other day
when my shoulders were laden with pity
and boy, was I surprised with the story she shared!
she named a rock in the intertidal zone
that dreamed about being a rock in Mt. Everest
where he’d lay under a female Juniper tree
in the forested zone, no less,
to wait for Juniper to drop him her berry-cones

“Don’t ask,” the pink starfish exclaimed,
rolling her eyes before she continued,
“but he is lots of fun and such a loving rock;
everyone respects him– we hope to keep him
grounded and curious.
We cannot make him change, but we can make him
grow aware of his unrealistic expectations,”
she said, and then she left with the tide
shouting I-don’t-know-what at me and that she’d
write her rock a love poem
How curious, thought I of the soliloquy
that even rocks have dreams to profess
curious-er still about the rock’s recklessness
to plant ideas into the heads of sea stars
Is that what life’s like at the bottom of the sea?

Today I met a rearing Adélie penguin pair
hit with a dire dearth of rocks to steal–
they have their eyes on the stones
at the bottom of the oceanic crust
but by golly, those are unwieldy
and immerse too deep to even try
“We’re the pebble poachers in these lands,”
the female told me, “with brave dreams of getting
our hands on those stones.”
“Stones that just lay on sea beds–
doing nothing,” offered the male.
Then, just as they came, they ran
off to write each other love poems.
I nodded, supposing I understood their plight.
Is it thievery when this couple
could put those rocks to good use–
and grant the rocks a purpose to be?
All for the sake of their offspring?

As I trudged home, my shoulders felt lighter
I didn’t know I didn’t know– but now I know!
Thinking hard about being jinxed by getting
the feted short end of the stick in life
which amounts to not having someone
to cohabit my bed with at night
Is my qualm due to quixotic expectations?
Do I need more lessons from the sea?
Perchance now I’m more ready to give it one more try
I’ll start today by writing to myself a love poem.


Photo by Rimvydas Ardickas on Pexels.com


Gift From The Sea was inspired by the poem Ocean’s Rocks. You can read more of Selma’s poetry at Selma.


I am sharing one more collaborative response poem tomorrow morning, and then will post one of my poetic responses each day the rest of next week, which will make 30 days in a row of poetry for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of the amazing poets that participated in this collaboration, and to all of you for being here, reading, liking, and commenting on the posts. It’s been so much fun!

Stay tuned to this blog for a Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration wrap-up post, and for details about my next initiative, by month’s end. Thank you.



Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #30-poems-in-30-days, #burden, #determination, #dreams, #expectations, #human-connection, #juniper, #life, #love, #nature, #naturespeaks, #poem, #purpose, #resilience, #rocks

#NatureSpeaks: 30 #Poems in 30 Days – Day 7: Fireflies, by Punam

The gift of love that you gave
burgeoned in my heart
its roots anchoring my unsteady life
calming all my inner turmoil

the pain of your sudden abandonment
left me bereft and alone. Yet, I stand tall
butterflies flit by, ignoring me
yet I know in the spring
when I am done with mourning
clothed in new leaves
self-love will resurrect me
with the ashes of pain swept away
I will then attract fireflies.


Image (From The Week)


Fireflies was inspired by the poem Butterfly Love. You can read more of Punam’s poetry at paeansunpluggedblog.wordpress.com.


Submissions are still open for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration. The submission details are located here.



Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #30-poems-in-30-days, #alone, #determination, #fireflies, #gift, #heart, #love, #mourning, #nature, #naturespeaks, #pain, #peace, #poem, #resilience, #resurrect, #roots, #self-love, #stand, #transformation, #turmoil

Gumdrops and Glitter, Published at MasticadoresUSA

I am pleased to announce that my poem, Gumdrops and Glitter, is now available at MasticadoresUSA. Thank you to Gabriela Marie Milton, and the team at MasticadoresUSA for their continued support and for publishing this piece.

Gumdrops and Glitter

the sea rises over my heart
while I lean into love

like a fairytale, made up of gumdrops
and glitter, which never stops

enticing
the senses

even with a skewed perspective…

I would be honored if you would go here, and read the rest of my poem. Thank you!


Photo by Agnali, Pixabay


Submissions are open for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration, and will remain open until September 23. The submission details are located here.

#poetry, #determination, #fairytale, #growth, #healing, #heart, #joy, #life, #love, #nature, #pain, #perspective, #poem, #reality, #resilience, #senses