A Tablespoon of Summer

by l. l. barkat on July 2, 2010

lavender

L.L. here, with a Random Acts of Poetry prompt.

Sometimes I forget that random acts of poetry are everywhere. They’re in my keyboard, my daily work, my daily play.

It doesn’t take much. A smidgen of experience. A tablespoon of vision about any common thing.

Like last week, I was sitting in the sun while my kids played in the pool. It is a pool by our river. Nothing fancy. I just like it because it doesn’t get too busy, and something about the air reminds me of the ocean.

Sitting there, I started looking at the Management’s very sad attempt at a garden. It was hardly beautiful. That is when I suddenly decided to take whatever I could find in that sorry little flower bed and put it in a poem. Really, like I said, it doesn’t take much. Poems will accept the smallest of things.

This week, find a tablespoon of summer. Nothing big. A sound, a sight, something unimpressive. Give it to a poem, and let the poem give it life.

For links and possible feature here at HCB, post your contribution by Thursday, July 8th, and drop your link in any comment box at my place so I don’t miss you.

Here, by the way, is the poem about the un-garden…

Distanced

Don’t worry about
the red star flowers aging to garnet,
or the marigolds blooming yellow,
so, so, yellow, or the pink star
flowers either, which are wilting and
eaten by beetles. Don’t worry
about the wood chips chocolate-colored
dry in the sun, while a breeze is blowing
in off the river, licking chlorinated water
from flat concrete, drifting it to you, from me.

Lavender in a Spoon photo by Elizabeth O. Weller. Used with permission. Post by L.L. Barkat.

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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }

Kathleen Overby July 2, 2010 at 1:40 pm

a garden needs to drink
but not drown
soggy heads
hanging down
embarrassed faces
sans sunburns
sunkisses

wet
leggy
pithy
moldy growth
puttin’ on a sad show
worse than broccoli in
her teeth or
slip showing

only
honeysuckles
hostas
and ferns
escape the aching
rheumatis’
gaudy girls
grinning at the
cold

Reply

L.L. Barkat July 2, 2010 at 1:45 pm

Do you know how much I love it when you speak in poetry?

I love it! :)

The part about the slip showing made me smile, and I loved the gaudy girls at the end. I am always personifying flowers and such. This was a good one!

Reply

A Simple Country Girl July 2, 2010 at 3:09 pm

Hey now, how are we supposed to follow that miss Kathleen?!

I am on the hunt for an unimpressive inkling of summer… “be very quiet, we’s hunting wittle bits of sunshine.”

Okay, I need some fresh air. ;-)

Blessings.

Reply

HisFireFly July 2, 2010 at 5:22 pm

Left a link in a comment over at your blog.. this was a fun prompt.. thanks!

Reply

Linda July 2, 2010 at 8:05 pm

I can see the little garden in your words. I feel a tenderness for it. You paint a lovely word picture.

Reply

Maureen July 2, 2010 at 8:35 pm

Kathleen, very good one!

Reply

Erin July 2, 2010 at 8:51 pm

Your poem is wonderful, and Kathleen’s is delightful as well. :) Little bits of summer. I can do that. :)

Reply

elk July 2, 2010 at 9:06 pm

creative ..by the teaspoonful for sure! no worries here…i will try…

Reply

Laura Boggess July 3, 2010 at 9:15 am

Already I feel the little bits of summer are slipping through my fingers. Perhaps this prompt will help me catch them…

Reply

Sandra Heska King July 3, 2010 at 9:44 am

I left a link. :)

Reply

Kelly Langner Sauer July 3, 2010 at 4:29 pm

I am in love with that photo…

Reply

Charity Singleton July 4, 2010 at 4:14 pm

Little bits of summer. Now that June is gone and school will start in a month and a half. And now Independence Day will soon be behind us, little buts are all we have. I AM going to try to capture a few.

Reply

Megan Willome July 5, 2010 at 12:51 pm

OK, here goes. The first 8 weeks of summer are dominated by my daughter’s participation in the annual summer musical at the community theater.

MUSICAL

tryouts
call-backs
rehearsal schedule
lines
choreography
off-book
notes
late nights
sing out!
costumes
makeup
hairspray (lots of hairspray)
Purgatory Week
dress rehearsal
preview
opening night
full weekends
lazy weekdays
parade float
closing matinee
cast party
What’s next summer’s show?

Reply

nance nAncY nanc heyyou davisbaby July 5, 2010 at 11:35 pm

such a pretty photo!

Reply

Heather July 6, 2010 at 9:15 am

Oooh… Love yours. Will think on this today.

Reply

Maureen July 6, 2010 at 3:56 pm

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