Poem Starting with a Line from Norman Dubie

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 13

The pearl slapdash of the moon is on the water
A stroke of white on black canvas
Shimmering yet blurring into its depth
As we slice through the mid-Atlantic

The grey silhouette of the ship
An iron cast mould in the dead of the night

A slow whistle floats on waves of wind
Making its way to the deck
A door opens, a head peeps out
There is a strong gust of wind
It goes back in
But in that instant
It grips the tune
Before plunging back under cover

At dawn, the sun strikes
Both corners of the ship
The bow and the stern
Gleaming in morning glory

Footsteps on the deck
A long deep breath of virgin air
Then a whistle
Slow and soft
A lonely traveller blows
A familiar tune floats back into the winds

Within

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 12

The sea shell wondered
Is there an ocean inside me?
Its vastness, its mysteries, its beauty
Contained within my hollowness?

The way man wonders
Is God within me?
Strength, Compassion, Enlightenment
Can they reside in my heart and emerge through my soul?

Almost Mine (A Pair of Minakari Earrings)

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 11

Oh gorgeous one!
The turquoise and sea-green make me come alive
The silver lining with delicately engraved floral art
Take me back to the time of the maharajas
The Royal Family of the city of Jaipur
Regal aesthetics, exquisite tastes

Your name - minakari
Befits you
Mina - the Pisces Sun Sign
Shy, dreamy, divine
You make a woman
Feel like an ethereal beauty!

You were shyly hanging
In the window display
Of the busy street
But I spotted you
Hiding behind the Garnet-studded Paisleys,
That overshadowed you in size,
But not in perfection

I tried you on
I loved the way you shook against my neck
The sound you made when I turned my head
The silver drop balls hanging in perfect circles
From the silver dome
Hanging in perfect proportion
From my ears

But I was blinded by the bling of
Rhinestones - your nemesis
I picked a perfectly passe pair of
Turquoise Chandeliers with gold embellishments
From across the aisle
When I knew I should have picked you
Because the next day
You were gone.

Scenes from a Wedding

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 10

"You may now kiss the bride"
And they kissed
Sitting in the front row
A peck of innocent love
They're small smiling faces flush
The flower girl and the ring bearer
Aged four and five.

Later, they skipped along
Hand in hand
Stumbling their way to the garden fountain
Amused stares and short laughs of delight
They were oblivious to
Frolicking and splashing the day away.

At sunset
The wedding band played Sinatra
Under the white canopy
Amidst the dancing couples
They were a precious pair
He was on a mission, she was his muse
He held a sombre expression
As she twirled slowly
He carefully bent one knee
As she clumsily dipped
Suddenly he whispered something in her ear
They ran out.

Her lavender dress
Matched the frosting on the cupcakes
Just devoured, crumbs still stuck on their faces
They slept peacefully
In the last pew of the last row
Dreaming sweet dreams of happiness
As the affair continued outside.

Betel Leaves

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 9

He strums his guitar
Sitting on the porch
In the ginger night air
Wattling strings of music
Whispering a love song.

She sits next to him
Swaying, drunk on his ballad of love
She feels powerless
Like a marionette
To which he holds the strings
Tugging on desire,
On pain, on love
Inside her.

Suddenly, she grasps his arm
Like a tigress' talon grasping its prey
Luscious and tempestous, she leans forward
But just as suddenly, he pulls away.

She sits stunned
Its like he pulled the rug beneath her feet
And let her fall, head first, on the floor
Brusied, she gets up and begins to cry.

He laughs
A child's laugh
A wicked one
The sound makes her nauseous,
Bitterness rises like bile inside her
It reminds her of chewing betel leaves.

A fringe of cherry blossoms surround them
On this warm summer evening
But why does it feel like a cold winter night?

A String of Pearls

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 8

A string of pearls
Smooth and soft,
Lustrous and light

The pearl oyster
Shapes its destiny
Consuming parasites
Growing its own selfish beauty

Out comes the pearl
A triumph of life's wonder
Attracted to others like it
Forming a molten string of exotic white

Loosely strung around the neck
The heartbeat of the bearer rises
Here lies intoxicating security
In this most flattering jewel
For any, for all

Round, tear drop, baroque or pear
They are all exquisite
They are all worthy of love
They are all to be treasured

Even in death it will live,
It has shown only life when alive.

Vogue Exposed

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 7

The escalator floated upward
got on the fashionista and the flirt,
on cloud nine, lost in the dream
rudely awoken by a rip and a tug
Off came her stair-caught skirt

Veiled

30 peoms in 30 days challenge! Day 6

Life Magazine's Top 50 Photos of 2009

I am enveloped in a sea of white,
The scarf, neatly tucked underneath my chin.
I am faceless and nameless,
My eyes, black slits, my windows to the world.

I walk through the busy streets.
My beauty a mystery,
My feelings invisible, just like I am.

But in my silence there is strength,
My veil is my honour and my identity,
It is my inheritence,
The legacy of my ancestors.

It liberates me because I am unknown,
It stifles me because I remain unknown.

It is not shame or fear that makes me look down,
But prayers, my eyes closed and head bent
As I hear the familiar call to The All Merciful,
Ringing in this land of Seven Sands,
A land I call my home.

Shiva, Hitler and Venus

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 5

Shiva, a young boy with divine powers,
When he sang, there were storms and torrential rains,
Trees fell, mud houses melted,
But crops flourished and villagers prospered;
He was their destroyer and their saviour.

Hitler, the neighbour's cat, a menace to mice,
Dreadful and dangerous,
Regal and solitary,
An unforgiving hunter who killed them all.

Lake Venus, beautiful and serene,
White as an angel's white robe in winter,
Blue as the blue bird in summer,
The seductive Goddess of the the Island.

The question begs to be asked, dear reader:
Would ol' Shakespeare's rose by any other name
Indeed smell as sweet?

The Scramble

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 4

The bride hurled the bouquet into the crowd,
It took its own whimsical path through the winds
Before landing in her hands.

There was a scramble and then a shout of joy,
Her destiny was sealed by roses,
Yes, she would have her boy.