Capturing Water

CAPTURING WATER

So many ways to paint 'water',

And so many more I could find.

When you think your thoughts about 'water'

Which vision comes into your mind?

       Joanne Clark

Do you picture yourself calm and peaceful,

By a pond in the cool of the day,

Where the ducks and the lilies are floating

And the dragonflies flutter and play?

                            artbywicks

Do you float in an underground cavern,

Where the water is black, full of threat,

And the walls of the cavern loom closer

And fear makes you shiver and sweat?

                  Nyoman Dewantara

Do you see yourself dreaming at mid-day

By a river paraded with trees

Where the fish dazzle you with their darting

And you're passing the day at your ease?

         Alexis Papageorgiou

Does water inhabit your nightmares?

Does a drowning say 'water' to you?

Do you wrestle with darkness and liquid?

Does you chest feel it's bursting in two?

                       axiom hacker

Or do you imagine a bathtub

That's eased all your trouble and pain?

Do you smile as the water goes gurgling

Off, off and away down the drain?

              Charleston

Or does 'water' mean power and fury

Does it crash? Does it roar? Does it roll?

Does it hurtle intent on destruction

To swallow humanity whole?

                                Silveira

Or does it cascade like a rainbow

Full of beauty to fall from a height

And does it reflect the sun's beaming

And the whiteness of moonlight at night?

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So many ways to paint 'water'

And I've only touched on a few!

So...... when you're considering 'water'

Which vision's the right one for you?

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SHAKE A LEG!

Before the 1840s when the sailors went to sea

They lacked the obvious benefits of female company!

So, when the ship sailed into port every sailor had the right

To ask a lady-friend on board so she could stay the night!

(The sailors slept in hammocks, in a very communal way,

So about that situation there's little I care to say!)

Let's move right on to the morning, when the sailors had their duties

And they weren't allowed to hang-around with their nocturnal beauties.

The boatswain's mate came round to see the state of all the pairing;

Which hammocks held one body, and which others showed signs of sharing!

'Shake a leg!' he'd bellow as he strode between the ranks,

(As you can guess the sailors didn't offer up their thanks!)

Everyone had to show a leg, be it quite smooth or hairy,

A prospect I'd have found to be quite definitely scary.

The Boatswain yelled 'Jump to it, boys! Ain't no man can refuse!'

The 'ladies' were allowed to snuggle down for one more snooze!

So next time you yell 'Shake a leg!' as you quite often do,
Remember that you owe those words to the boys in navy blue!

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The Fringe

WATERY WEDNESDAY

http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/

THE FRINGE

Standing sentinel by the Lake are the lovely Norfolk Pines

With their enchanting symmetry and satisfying lines.

They enhance a watery aspect, so they're planted by the shore

Of lakes and rivers and the beach, within the ocean's roar.

They're natives of Norfolk Island, a mere dot in the sea,

Where the sailors from the 'Bounty' came after the Mutiny.

It's a holiday destination for Australians, like me

Being only just eight miles across, but full of history.

I recall my island holiday each time I see the lines

And the noble dark green foliage of  our many Norfolk pines.

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TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH!

In a little country town, in a little dusty room

That called itself  'Museum', just for show,

I found this ancient artifact among the aged junk

And it brought back days of very long ago.

I can see them gathering round when the miracle arrived,

All shiny and so modern and so bright!

I can picture eyes wide open at the new technology;

They'd see Washing Day in quite a different light!

'Mum! It'll do the wringing!' Little Tommy is amazed

At the clever things that grown-up people do!

'It looks a trifle difficult!' That's Mother looking shy

For she's always rather scared when things are new.

'You'll get the hang of it, my dear!' That's father, looking proud,

For the gadget is from Dad to Mum, a gift;

'The children need not help you when you do the weekly wash!

You'll find the sheets are easier to lift!'

Mum tries to turn the handle but it's heavy and it's stiff;

She views her new contraption with dismay.

So now she'll have to manage without any help at all.

She just can't wait until it's Washing Day!

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Widdershins!

WIDDERSHINS!

What a wondrous word is Widdershins!

It makes it very clear

That it means 'going the wrong way';

Onamatapoea!

It once meant 'anticlockwise'

Or going 'against the sun',

But I associate it with wind

When it's having a bit of fun.

It can widdershin the scudding clouds

Across a blustery sky

It can widdershin the breeze-blown trees

When their branches scrape the sky.

It can widdershin our neat-combed hair

Till it blows across our faces,

And none of our careful coiffured 'bits'

Are staying in their places!

It can whip stray hairs into our eyes!

Then, when we think it's easing,

It can suddenly blow the other way

To prove that it was teasing!

It's good to follow a well-worn path

And to be neat and obey.

But oh the joy of Widdershins

When we get blown away!

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WHAT A SHAME!


The pretty galah's feeling small!
It's beauty does no good at all!
The thing that has mattered
And made him feel shattered
Is driving him right up the wall!
*
Of all of the bright birds in Australia
And many have brilliant regalia
This poor bird is named
And horribly shamed
By the fact that he represents failure!
*
If I have a slight prang in my car
Or I step in a mess of wet tar
Any Aussie who's near
Will shout out loud and clear
'Well! Aren't you a proper galah!'
*
To be called a galah is not nice
(I've been called one myself once or twice!)
But this parrot, I think,
With its feathers of pink
Should certainly not pay the price!
*

* 'Galah' is pronounced 'gullar' with the emphasis on the second syllable

Skydiver!

                                                                                   Press Photograph

RUBY TUESDAY

http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/

SKYDIVER!

Once has was a Desert Rat!

Now! What do you make of that?

It means that once in World War Two

He just did what he had to do.

He fought in the desert against the Hun

And as we know, the fight was won!

And so he's a hero, from times past,

But hero-worship doesn't last.

So now at the age of ninety-two

He's doing 'what he has to do'!

Proving his heroism is alive

He's preparing to go aloft and dive!

And who better to fulfill his dream

Than the men of the Red Devils team?

These pilots skim the British skies

As we look on with goggle-eyes.

The upper air is their domain

As they twist and swoop and climb again,

Crossing over in mid-air

And never turning a single hair!

Congratulations to all heroes

(My bravery's expressed in zeros!)

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UPPING THE ANTI


The ant knows about co-operation
The ant can't do anything alone.
He can't live his life in isolation.
Solitary, underneath a stone.
The ant knows we need to help each other,
The ant's only tiny but he's wise.
He knows he must walk beside his brother,
If he wants to win that very special prize.
The ant hill is something quite enormous,
Each ant building just a little part.
Those same ants are trying to inform us
That we need co-operation from the start.
The ant isn't ever self-sufficient,
The ant never thinks he's number one,
He knows on his own he's not proficient
And he knows one little ant can't get things done.
The ant knows he can't work as a single
The burdens would be much too much to bear.
He knows he and his fellow ants must mingle.
Every ant must pull his weight and do his share.
An ant's such a very little creature,
And we to him are an enormous size,
But the ant can be our most important teacher;
Co-operation's bound to win the prize.
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How Many Angles?

                                         Brenda Bryant

THEME THURSDAY
http://themethursday.blogspot.com/
'Triangle'
 

Purists will cringe I know! But once the word 'How' came into my mind I couldn't help echoing the rhythms of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's beautiful poem.

At least it's given me a chance to publish her poem on my blog too!

HOW MANY ANGLES?

How many angles? Let me count them all.

A triangle in black first takes my eye

Cutting the tiny window to the sky.

That is, in fact, the ceiling in the hall.

Then comes the stair-rail angle to the right

Making a neat perspective with a line.

Somewhere those lines are certain to combine

Up to the left and somewhere out of sight.

Then comes the painting, never hung askew,

Which now seems tilted down as though to fall

And clinging quite uncertain, to the wall,

Deceiving us with angles all untrue.

Finally come the angles of the light!

My staircase! Such an optical delight!

                                       Me

 

The powerful original

HOW DO I LOVE THEE?

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with a passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

                                                             Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

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TECHNOLOGY
An Acrostic

True, it's brought us gadget toys beyond our wildest dreams!
Everything that can be made is being made it seems!
Clever people keep 'improving life', or so they say.
Happily we grasp at every brand new chance to 'play'.
Now we have the whole world in our grasp with just one click!
Ordinary people are becoming 'wise' and 'slick'.
Letters once were written with such elegance and grace;
(Oh, what we have lost pursuing this, our faster pace!)
Gains are always matched by losses, downsides must exist.
Yes! We've gained an awful lot.
But should we now desist?
*

Blue Berries

BLUE BERRIES!

Passing by I chanced to see,

There, on someone's balcony,

A very curious little tree

Decked with fruit of blue!

*

Something made me cross the street

Because it's rarely that you meet

Fruits that might be good to eat

And absolutely blue!

*

They were very blue alright,

But something wasn't really right!

They were left from a party night!

Those paper fruits of blue!

*

It was lanterns that hung there

Swaying in the summer air,

No wonder they looked rather rare!

Inedible..... but blue!

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ONE MAN'S MEAT

'One man's meat is another man's poison!'
I've heard that said and I'm sure that it's true.
This sort of pattern does nothing for me!
It may be the last word in fashion for you!
I remember the seventies! Weren't they just awful!
The things that we wore were devoid of all taste!
The obvious colours competing for dominance!
The bright repeat-patterns we gladly embraced!
And now they've come back again! Can you believe it!
The High Street's awash with the same garish stuff.
I've lived long enough to see hist'ry repeated!
But the seventies! Surely just once was enough!
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Belly-can Pelican!

MELLOW YELLOW MONDAY
http://mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com/


BELLY-CAN PELICAN!

'What a wonderful bird is the pelican!

It's beak can hold more than its belly can!'

*

It's a rhyme which I learned in my youth

With its own biological truth!

My rhymes tend to be quite verbose!

On words I sometimes overdose!

I frequently get self-indulgent

With beautiful words like 'effulgent!

And I often get carried away

With the words that I'm eager to say.

But that little verse that I quote

Is as short as a quickly-scrawled note!

It says all we need know of the bird

With a modicum use of The Word!

I must learn from this silly quotation

And give more precise information!

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BIORHYTHMS

Biorhythm is one of those things I believe in and yet I don't!

Some days I'll go along with it and other days I won't!

According to the theory three rhythms rule our lives,

Though many say this story is very much 'Old Wives'.

Circadian rhythm is a fact; we're ruled by day and night,

But Biorhythms can't be proved so are they wrong or right?.

First, there's the Physical rhythm; affecting our bodily state.

Some days we feel we're dying; other days we feel just great.

Then there's the Emotional rhythm. Are we happy? Are we sad?

We'll all agree there's a difference between miserable and glad.

Finally, there's Intellectual. Do we feel alert and bright?

Or have we hit a day when two-and-two just wont come right?

According to the theory each rhythm waxes and wanes,

So there are days with losses and there are days with gains.

The Physical rhythm is twenty-three days; the Emotional twenty-eight;

The Intellectual, thirty-three, or so the pundits state.

Now, once in a while they'll all be high, you'll feel you rule the earth.

But, once in a while, they'll all hit low, and you'll feel you have no worth!

Most of the time we coast along having an average ride,

But we really feel a difference when the rhythms coincide!

We all have days 'on top of the world.'! We all have days that stink!

So Biorhythms stand a chance of being correct, I think.

A typical chart.

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