A Silent Shroud

Night comes as always,

a silent shroud placed upon

faith of his return.

She sits watching the moonlight

playing hide and seek

with thin clouds crossing the sky.

A broken heart beats

its melancholy rhythm

as tears cloud her eyes.

Prayers escape trembling lips,

please have tomorrow bring peace.

©Susie Clevenger 2011

 Choka Form Poem

5-7-5, 7-5, 7-5, 7-5 ...  7-7  Syllable pattern

My first attempt at writing a Choka

Halloween

the timid waver

it is the night of the bold

shadows walk the night

halloween adorns

the moon with a rusty scarf

tied with orange ribbon

jack-o-lanterns smile

their candle grins on doorsteps

welcoming goblins

witches lips chant

their spells on the harvest wind

dread shivering limbs

ghosts rattle their chains

macabre music

symphony of bones

midnight approaches

the pinnacle of haunting

fear inhales a breath

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 30: Any Topic

Life Has a Rhythm

the spirit dances

with footsteps of thanksgiving

the joy unrestrained

- 0 -

life has a rhythm

it pulsates through the heartbeat

music of the soul

 - 0 -

body electric

sparks of enthusiasm

ignites fuse of hope

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 29: Rhythm 

How Dare the Moon

how dare the moon shine

when it is hidden in clouds

i long for its light

the night is too dark

i am feeling forsaken

my friend evades me

moonbeams my nightlight

they shine the path to my dreams

now I toss and turn

dear moon come to me

chase away your cloud blanket

shine for me again

©Susie Clevenger 2011

A Wish to Be Barbie

I wished to be Barbie

with her perfect face

and her perfect skin

until I looked in the mirror

and saw that expression

had been carved from my face,

and I was left with a plastic

immovable grin.

©Susie Clevenger 2011

http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/2011/09/midnight-snack-004.html

Scarlett

scarlett o’hara

attempted feminine charm

balked at restrictions

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 28: Charm

 

Liar's Cobblestones

I am the grief

that stares at me

with its black veil.

I chose the path

lain with liar’s cobblestones

that broke my heart.

My lips spoke lies

much easier than truth.

I wished to deceive.

I sacrificed a love

that would die for me

on the Alter of my lust.

Forever was gambled

on a temporary affair.

I find myself alone.

I am the grief

that stares at me

with its black veil.

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Bridge of Questions

bridge from here to there

questions the planks we must cross

we fear the answers

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Photograph: Susie Clevenger

Captured Poise

elegant beauty

captured poise with paint and brush

realism in art

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 27: Poise

Rain, Wash the Lies From Me

Rain, wash the lies from me.

I believed for so long

that I was not enough.

Untruth burrowed into my thoughts

spreading its cancer through me.

Rain, wash the lies from me

I believed the mirror

when it spoke, “You are not pretty”

Love will never find you.”

Rain, wash the lies from me

I believed the shadows

when they spoke,

“Walk behind, you will never lead.”

Rain, wash the lies from me

I believed the clock

when it said, “time has run out.

It is too late for you to dream.”

Rain, wash the lies from me.

Cleanse my spirit to believe

that I have within me

all I need to be set free.

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Magpie Tales Prompt: 84

Reborn From Ashes

the phoenix legend

personified in my child

reborn from ashes

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 26: Phoenix

 

Autumn's Glory

fall plays in the park

bright leaves dancing in the wind

autumn’s glory shines

summer thoughts retreat

dreams now caught in orange rapture

thanksgiving beckons

shorter days return

nights of conversation

time to reconnect

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Photograph: Susie Clevenger

Heart Notes

music claimed my heart

it heard the loneliness there

and filled it with notes

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 26: Any Topic

 

Ode to Sun's Joy

Oh brilliant sun

in your azure frame,

dark days of melancholy

lie faded laundry

in your joyful sunbeams.

Days cling to your glory

as voices raise in joy at your majesty.

Sun you are the star that outshines

the dark distance of night’s sparkle.

Creation lifts its heart in celebration

to your light of renewal.

You are the brilliance that greets

each dawning with rays of hope.

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Photograph: Susie Clevenger
Free Write Friday Prompt: Joy

Prompt: Gift
Imaginary Garden With Real Toads

Lost To Winter Snow

the trees stood undressed

final glory of autumn

lost to winter snow

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 25: Lost

Black Robe of Judgement

Do you think your

words sacred

because you

were given

the blessing

to condemn?

A black robe

of judgment

worn as if

it were an honor.

My feet walk a path

yours have never trod,

yet you would

give me directions.

Cease your claims

of only wishing

the best for me.

It is prefaced

with demands

I surrender my will

to the control of yours.

If this is the love

that shines

through stained glass,

I prefer the glow

of neon streets.

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Water Dance

the rain’s water dance

performance on pink blossoms

nature applauding

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Photograph: Susie Clevenger

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 23: Water

Silver Decadence

anticipation

of decadence in silver

chocolate kisses

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Sensational Haiku Wednesday prompt: Anticipation

Zakk Wylde

zakk wylde guitarist

his custom les paul bullseye

deserved accolades

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 22: Bullseye

Be Still

reward of patience

nature reveals its secrets

be still and observe

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Photograph Macro: Susie Clevenger

Flashing Failure

Blinking, urging, impatience,

it mocks while it insists.

I stare trying to find

the words to satisfy

its annoying persistence,

but thoughts grow silent.

The page becomes a neon sign

flashing my failure to create.

With grumbled swearing

I slam the lid on the cursor’s contempt

and walk away from its assiduous demands.

©Susie Clevenger 2011
http://gooseberrygoespoetic.blogspot.com/

Iridescent Joy

delightful tickle

iridescent joy sparkles

smiles blowing bubbles

©Susie Clevenger

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 21: Bubbles

worded oblivion

surrounded by life

technology eclipses

response to human contact

text messages replace

the sound of another’s voice

 in worded oblivion

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Photo Prompt Poets United

http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/2011/09/midnight-snack-003.html#comments

White Feather

a white feather fell

when an angel lost its wings

heaven’s in mourning

©Susie Clevenger

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 20: Feather

Snake Charmer's Moon

The snake charmer’s night stage

is lighted by the opalescent moon.

Mystery weaves its way through the reeds

to sit at the feet of the performer.

Snakes slither along tree limbs entranced

by the seductive notes calling from a flute

in the lips of the beguiler.

Forked tongues taste the air seasoned with sorcery.

The snake shaman hypnotizes the serpents

to dance to the tune of submission.

Snakes and charmer perform this exotic ballet

until the sun pulls back the night curtain.

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Magpie Tales Prompt 83

Delicate Kisses

delicate kisses

romance wishing to be bold

shyness overtakes

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 19: Bold

Betrayal

Pungent enticement

drifts on the air.

Hunger raises its nostrils

searching the draft for sustenance.

Desperation argues with trepidation,

there will be no surviving this bloated wasting.

A growling stomach rumbles in agreement

coercing fear to surrender.

Somewhere in the darkness

lies the relief of starvation,

a waxy yellow seductress

lying in betrayal’s steely teeth.

©Susie Clevenger 2011

OSI Prompt 186: Betrayal

Starlight Reposing

moonlight reposing

floral scented dreams surround

starlight anticipation

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Sensational Haiku Wednesday Prompt: Freestyle

Written Wonderland

written wonderland

a magic carpet of words

carries the dreamer

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 18: Any topic

Moonlit Revelry

moonlit revelry

inhibitions seek freedom

spirit rejoices

forget tomorrow

its shadow bullies horizon

with supposed regrets

tonight your ballroom

dance under starlight lanterns

yesterday is gone

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Haiku Friday at Haiku My Heart

Winter Wonder

winter has arrived

wearing a cape of moonlight

wonderland beauty

snowflakes in the air

swirling magic surrounding

solitude’s ice dance

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 17: Winter

When I Look Into Your Eyes

Where have you gone?

When I look into your eyes

I can’t find you.

The mother I have known

has retreated into the past.

I sit wishing you would return

when you don’t even know

you have left me.

(My mother died in 2007. She had Alzheimer's) 

©Susie Clevenger 2011

  Alzheimer's Association

Love Chime

love struck my heartbeat

a chime reviving the hope

romance is not dead

©Susie Clevenger

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 16: Chime

Fragile Poetry

imagination

blown from lips of an artist

fragile poetry

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Photograph: Susie Clevenger

A Picture Speaks – A Poetry and Picture Challenge

Challenge # 2: Poem and Photograph any Genre

Surgery of Deception

A surgeon, what else

could I name you?

You took a scalpel

to my thoughts

and removed

inspiration from me.

Harmless discussions

of creativity became

an operating room

where you anesthetized

my dreams with deception

to steal my words

and publish them

as your own.

Betrayal has left its

open wounds.

There is no thread

of trust to stitch

my incision.

Your deceit has left me silent,

no longer wanting

to share my dreams.

©Susie Clevenger 2011

(Written from a friend’s experience)

Patience/Frustration

patience a virtue

that frustration does malign

it hasn’t the gift

©Susie Clevenger

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 15: Patience

Babalon's Cup

babalon raises

elixir of love and death

many seek her cup

©Susie Clevenger

Photograph: Photobucket

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 14: Elixir

Liberty

liberty or death

colonial battle cry

birth of a nation

©Susie Clevenger 2011

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 13: Liberty

Psychedelic Escape

At dVerse Poets Pub we were asked to go beyond the poem and speak of what prompted it, the psychological state we were in, the dreams or vision that created the piece. I chose this poem because the subject matter is one that had a profound effect upon my life.

This photo was given as a prompt on Magpie Tales. From the first time I saw it I was uncomfortable. The longer I looked at it the more it brought back memories of the terror I experienced from childhood sexual abuse. I kept the horrible secret for years and tried desperately to erase it from my memory. This was written from the darkness that once tormented me.

Psychedelic escape,

drugs altering my reality,

attempting to erase all thoughts of you.

Mind contorting in colors

blue sky rests on my fingertips,

green grass with teeth

gnashing at my feet,

purple flowers walking

with stamen canes along my arm.

Why is everything white?

I see you standing there,

a face with only one eye

boring its way through

my consciousness.

Go away! You are my terror!

I see your hands tearing

away my innocence.

Secrets spiral around me.

I kept your hideous silence.

You are dead! I saw you placed

in the ground, dirt thrown upon you.

Why are you here? Didn’t you take

enough from me?

I can not breathe!

I smell the scent of your cologne.

Someone please help me!

Fear is tearing its way through me.

I want to go back to that land of color

where memories don’t exist!

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Magpie Tales Prompt 82

dVerse Poets Pub
Meeting the Bar: Filling in the Gaps

Emotion's Flood

love has breached the dam

i had built around my heart

flood of emotion

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 12: Flood

Roses

the last roses bloom

petals bid summer goodbye

fall waits for its cue

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Photograph: Susie Clevenger

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 11: Any Topic

Your DNA

You dressed me in pale skin,
colored my eyes blue,
and carved your smile upon my lips.

My fine boned hands
are the replica of the china pattern
that lifted me up when I fell down.

I hear your voice when I speak.
My laughter echoes the sound of yours,
and I have the same quick temper.

I used to try and find a thousand ways
I didn’t resemble you in looks or manner.
Now I am grateful for every part of you in me.

Mother, Father you are now gone,
but you left a part of yourselves with me.
My tears are not just grief but gratitude.

I have your DNA and your strength.
The lessons of watching your life
keep me strong when I am afraid.

I have two daughters that I see myself in.
I pray I can leave a legacy with them
that will have them saying, “I see my mother in me.”



©Susie Clevenger 2011

Enchantment

trees dance in the wind

wood fairies speak magic spells

enchantment surrounds

dreams dispatched on wings

a twilight delivery

reaches each dreamer

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 Days

Prompt Day 10: Magic

 

Remote~Haiku

the mountain remote

i yearn for its solitude

the traffic deafens

©Susie Clevenger 2011

 Height of Haiku Challenge

September-30 Haikus in 30 days

Prompt Day 9: Yearn

Tomorrow Implies

tomorrow implies

it is a miracle balm

to heal the pain of today

turn the hours forward

agony will disappear

today sits watching the clock

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Sedoka poem written for

Sunday Scribblings Prompt: Tomorrow

Numbers~Senryu

numbers mark our days

we wail at finding gray hair

behold vanity

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Sensational Haiku Wednesday Prompt: Numbers

Generations Once Echoed

Voices of generations

once echoed in the dirt.

Now the fields are silent.

The family farm has died,

a rusted wheel its headstone.

It had survived drought,

floods, and pests,

but it could not survive

the greed of corporations.

The thread the farmer

had tied to his hope

was severed by a bank

that foreclosed on his loan.

A broken heart beats in his chest.

A farm, the pride of his ancestors,

auctioned to strangers

on court house steps.

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Magpie Tales  Prompt # 81

Color Vanished

the witch cast a spell

color vanished from the flowers

she smiled a green smile

©Susie Clevenger 2011

Photograph: Susie Clevenger

A Picture Speaks – A Poetry and Picture Challenge

Challenge # 1: Poem in any form-black & white photograph