The Story of my Blog Title

Quilt of Dragonflies- My blog is named that for a reason.I am lucky enough to own a genuine Quilt of Dragonflies, which I am sure brings me good dreams when I sleep beneath it. It was given to me by a friend of my mother's, who handmade the entire thing. Color meets pattern in this fantastic piece of artwork which sits on my bed. Brilliant shades of purple, blue, and green intersperse with tie dye dragonflies. I will not hesitate to call it my inspiration.







Sunday, April 29, 2012

Am I?

Am I like the sun
Which shines bright upon the world
Bringing golden joy to those who
Turn their heads to face
The sky
Am I the water
Cool and sincere
Slicing waves that fall
Onto the earth and
Lap at the feet
Of those who care
Am I there
In the moment
When the laugh ripples through the crowd
Am I there
To watch the rising ball of fire in the east
Or see the grey green ocean
Am I there?

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Predator

Tearing into flesh
Sparkling rubies of blood drip to the ground
Tendons snap and bones crunch
Sharp beak clacks
Feathers ruffle
Claws clench
The thrill of flight is over
The feast begins



Thursday, April 26, 2012

The Night Before

Standing in front of
A sea of empty chairs
Microphones trained
Speakers in every corner
A ripple of anticipation
Flutters through the chorus
White table clothes
Round tables
And we begin to sing


Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Warm Ups

red leather yellow
 Leather unique New York and
My lips twist around


Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Deceptive Sunlight

Deceptive sunlight
Sparkling down through trees and clouds
Vicious wind that chills

Monday, April 23, 2012

Rainy Day

Today was cold and rainy, and obviously I have been blogging a lot to make up for the miserable weather. This afternoon, I put on my rain boots and trudged around in the garden for a while, because despite the cold, there were some fantastic photo opportunities. I ended up with around 100 (got a little carried away), and here are some of my favorites. Try viewing them larger to catch the water droplets.







WILL!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL!


TODAY is the 448th Birthday of William Shakespeare, master poet and playwright, and the most enduring writer of all time.


William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, and became one of the most influential playwrights in the world. He was born in a London suburb called Stratford-Upon-Avon, married Anne Hathaway at age 18, and later had twins named Hamnet and Judith, as well as an older girl named Susanna. Shakespeare moved to London around the turn of the century and became a playwright, one who quickly became the talk of London, even performing for the queen.

Shakespeare wrote thirty seven plays and many sonnets and longer poems, which were collected by his friends after his death in what is referred to as the First Folio. Shakespeare died on his birthday, April 23rd, 1616, but his work will most likely live on forever.

The words of The Bard continue to shape our cultures and our worlds today, inspiring us and making us laugh and cry. He was a genius, and I wish him a very happy birthday today.

"Look, he is winding up the watch of his wit
By and by it will strike"

"Et tu, Brute?"

"If music be the food of love, play on"

"Be not afraid of greatness:
Some are born great, some achieve greatness,
and some have greatness thrust upon 'em"

"A jest's prosperity lies in the ear of him that hears it,
Never in the tongue of him that makes it"

Wild and Windy Nights

There is something about
Wild and windy nights
That feeds the soul

Something in the way it howls
The sheets of rain driving down
That makes you come alive

You feel the urge
To run out
Into the dark and stormy
Night
To fly through the air
Sing the song of 
The tempest
Scream with the trees
That bend and sway
Drench yourself
With the water
In the darkness

There is something
About wild and windy nights

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Five Sentence Fiction: Scorching

The rain fell in fat drops with miserable abandon towards the ground, and even my rubber ducky colored rain boots and matching umbrella did nothing to lighten the mood. Taxis splashed me with more dirty water, and goose bumps began to pop up on my arms. Slate clouds rolled in and out over the grimy city, over the thousands of chilled people making their way home from work. My teeth were chattering as I jogged across the street and promptly ran into you before standing back and looking into your face. Even from a foot away, your gaze was scorching.


Note: I have been away from FSF for a couple weeks, which I feel very bad about, but I am trying to get back with it. Here, I used a word that I had missed. 


Claire

Forest

In the forest
green seeps into my being
mosses underfoot
and the trees
staring down with leafy branches
tucked up and leaning towards the sun
there is a strange golden light
tinged with emerald and no sound
accompanies my footsteps
the breath of the trees
is a steady beating
hum
uninterrupted and at peace

Friday, April 20, 2012

Somewhere, right now

In a second, a child is lost
Crying. Somewhere a mother
Weeps and a student
Studies with furrowed brow
In this minute
New life is created
A small fish swims
Under the weight of an ocean
Somewhere there is a deep
Belly laugh and
A birthday celebrated
At sunset
Right now
A person treads lightly and
A baby is comforted
Somewhere
Right now
You are thinking of me
And I of you

In A Moment

Living here
In this moment alone
I feel a breath and
Wind on my neck. Dappled sunlight
Country music in shreds from
Baseball practice nearby
Making sense out of
Nonsense and
Trying desperately to be
Fully in this moment
Watching blank computer screen
Filling up with words
Breathless words
Words of desire
To breathe in and
Out again and
Clear my head
To live in this moment alone
Buds on the trees
A bower of green
Fresh and new
Alive
Crisp white houses
Two yellow lines stretching down the road
To nowhere
Making sense out of nonsense
In this moment
I am here

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The Big Game

when the team scores
we scream and cheer
then frantically
bite fingers and tap them against
the table in
severe nervousness
each pass another
cringe
each touch on the ball
another fit
of emotion

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Monday, April 16, 2012

A Collection of Pictures

A beautiful sunset from this morning

Twin Cranes from a weekend trip to the water

An array of boats

White flowers, with the morning sun in the background

A photogenic pile of bricks in the garden

Hot Days

A blast of hot air
The kiss of sun on shoulders
Temperatures will soar

Friday, April 13, 2012

Poem Edit: Seaman's Song

I have been thinking lately about my poetry. I wrote a bunch of wonderful poems at the beginning of this blog, but I think some of them could do with a jolt of some sort. I have never been one for editing poems, but I would like to go back and edit a couple that I loved but could be better. The first is one I wrote a long time ago called "Seaman's Song".

Here is the original:


the joy of wind filling your sails
land lubbers to seamen pale
in comparing the two I find
the sea is the one which captures my mind

I do love my lady, the lady the sea
she is the most dearest to me, to me
whenever I gaze out at the water so deep
she is the melody to which I sleep


green grey waves in the ocean of time
each minute that passes is sublime
my watch is the sun that beats down on high
the moon and the stars dapple the night sky

I do love my lady, the lady the sea
she is the most dearest to me, to me
whenever I gaze out at the water so deep
she is the melody to which I sleep

and when to the shore the boat is set
I reach down to touch her and get myself wet
for I am a sailor and for me
I am the one married to the sea

I do love my lady, the lady the sea
she is the most dearest to me, to me
whenever I gaze out at the water so deep
she is the melody to which I sleep

Here is the edited version. I have not changed everything, just a couple parts I didn't like as much in the first version.

The crashing waves and crisp sea air
The blank horizon to which I stare
Sailing into the blue I find
The sea is the woman who captures my mind
I do love my lady, my lady the sea
She is the best lady for me, for me
With eyes as blue as the briny deep
Her song is the one which sends me to sleep
No other girl shall be in my head
When I can rest on the sea bed
And in the morning, with sun on high
She smiles as ships go passing by
I do love my lady, my lady the sea
She is the lone lady for me, for me
With eyes as blue as the briny deep
Her song is the one which sends me to sleep
And when to the shore the boat is set
I reach down to touch her and get myself wet
For I am a sailor and for me
I am the one married to the sea
I do love my lady, my lady the sea
For she takes good care of me, of me
She is the one I have struggled to find
Forever will she stay in my mind.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

What if...

What if raindrops
Fell to earth in different colors?
Magenta smears on raincoats and
Deep blue puddles.
What if clouds were rainbows
And the earth was one vast
Canvas. Ready to be
Painted on.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Things That Make Me Happy

I love my
guinea pigs. Family and friends.
Coral colored nail polish.
Hugs and apple pie. Bright colors and
sandals. Braids. Eating well
Sleeping long. Quilt of dragonflies.
Singing all alone. Being barefoot.
Julius Caesar and old summer journals
Rereading and discovering memories.
Laughing hard, receiving the mail
Reading good books
On rainy days.
Bubbles and breakfast and misty mornings.
Knitting. The ocean. Hot chocolate
Happy endings.
Scrabble and rain boots
Tie dye T-shirts.
Walking slowly. Ice skating outside.
Soccer playing. White Christmas.
Broadway plays and Shakespeare
In black box theaters.
Free verse and blogging.
Living, Laughing, Loving.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Long Day

What a long day and
Another one coming as
The sun comes again

Monday, April 9, 2012

Night

The sky is dark, in comes the night
Bringing clouds of deepest light

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Comedy

from the audience
a great guffaw rises up
settles down again

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Actors

actors are blank slates
to be scribbled upon by children
and hastily erased-swept
clean.
the careful script of maturity
flawless lines and drawings on the black
chalk can be scrubbed away
but a thin coating remains
the shell of roles past
roll upon roll
dusty layers of
experience-characters
with each line drawn
each angle
there is added another
swipe of chalk
until the slate is
crisscrossed with marks
the actor has marks
of personality
many people slipped into one
a face on each corner.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Early Spring

a blush of spring
a breath upon the sad limbs
of a knurled tree
bringing life and golden sunshine
blossoms of pink
a baby's cheek
sky the color of
a bit of eggshell
lying blue against the ground
no green yet
but buds and delicate
flowers
petals fluff in the wind
and the sun shines
weak from above

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Until

Rushing around can be no fun
Stuck inside you can't see the sun
Working throughout
Without a pout
Can't wait until it is done

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Darkness

Sitting in the dark
Letting it spill around you
Dark and dank
Solitude
It welcomes you, a stranger
Into its moist depths
Folds of blackness slide in around you
Lost to the world
You lie back
It sifts around you
Delighting in your
Company

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

dance

repetitive and
oddly soothing. feel the stretch
in your every move

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Race and Rain

I

Seeing grey
On the horizon. Fat drops fall
With vengeance and
The world slips into slumber

II

The slapping of sneakers
On pavement
Loud against the breathing
Of hundreds.

III

Finishing with flushed cheeks
Gasps and the voice of an
Overly cheery announcer
Grinning and shouting numbers.