Tag Archives: double etheree

RIP, My Tiny Friend

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All stories end in death, and he is no true storyteller who would keep that from you. ~Ernest Hemingway, American journalist, novelist, and short story writer

You

Were so

Tiny that

I didn’t think

You’d ever get big.

Yet a Pandemic tree

Had nothing to do but grow.

And over these past five years you

Did exactly that! Each year saw you

Get taller and fuller and healthier.

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While I hated to do it, I had to

Have you cut down so others could live.

Sacrifice is never easy

And I thank you, Tiny Tree,

For your superb service.

I’ll miss you, you know,

But you’ll live on

In photos

And my

Heart

Note: Poetry form is Double Etheree.

What’s Up, Buttercup?

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No man has a heart pure enough to interpret the freshness of flowers. ~Auguste Rodin, French sculptor

A

Pretty

Yellow gold

Bulb was blooming

Beneath a large tree

Waiting to be admired

By me and Monk on our walk.

After appreciating it

And checking my plant app for ID,

I learned its name is Winter Aconite.

 

Native to Europe’s woodlands and meadows,

Part of the buttercup family,

One of Spring’s earliest bloomers,

Winter Aconite attracts

Pollinators, but is

Poisonous to man

And pets, so look,

But don’t touch

It at

All!

Note: Poetry form is Double Etheree.

Shh, Bunnies Are Sleeping!

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Everything in Nature suggests the infinite. ~Henry James Slack, English journalist, activist, and science writer

I

Wondered

Why my new

Plants didn’t seem

To be growing well.

I peeked a bit closer

And saw a nest of babies!

Bunnies tucked into each other,

Fast asleep in my whiskey barrel.

Eating my snapdragons and my dahlia.

 

What was their mother thinking, I wondered,

As I stood and watched them slowly stir.

Didn’t she smell my Monkey dog

And know he’d be after her

And those babies as soon

As they vaulted free

From their cocoon?

Another

Problem.

Sigh.

Note: Poetry form is Double Etheree.

Et tu, Brute?

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Sticks and stones are hard on bones.
Aimed with angry art,
Words can sting like anything,
But silence breaks the heart.
~Phyllis McGinley, Pulitzer Prize-winning American author of children’s books and poetry

You

Fooled me.

Or maybe

I fooled myself.

Earnestly craving

A peaceful atmosphere,

I acquiesced to many

Of your suggestions, traded dreams,

And hoped we’d never experience

Long, lonely years of silence between us.

***

But something happened — what, I’m just not sure —

And here we are, stuck in this cold war.

No talking. No contact. Nothing,

When I’d hoped for so much more.

It hurts to realize

You’ve hardened your heart

And just don’t care

Anymore.

Okay,

Fine.

 

Note: Poetry form is Double Etheree. “Et tu, Brute” were Caesar’s dying words in Shakespear’s play Julius Caesar to his friend Brutus, who sided with a clique to assassinate the ruler.

Missing Mom

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A mom’s hug lasts long after she lets go. ~Author unknown

Moms

Are the

Official

Storytellers

Of our lives, and once

They pass on, we become

Aware there’s nobody else

Who knows us and loves us the way

Our moms did. Perhaps that’s why losing

Your mom feels like having your heart cut out.

Those who tell the stories rule the world. ~Author unknown

Storytellers bolster our confidence,

Remind us of our identity,

Preserve our family history.

Other females might step up

To fill the vacancy,

But nobody can

Replace our mom

When she’s gone

From our

World.

 

Note: Poetry form is a Double Etheree.

Close Friends

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Hold a true friend with both your hands. ~Nigerian proverb

Once

You were

The center

Of my world and

My prized possession.

Then I put you aside

For years — no, make that decades.

You never complained nor did you

Seem to resent my indifference.

But good friends shouldn’t be treated that way.

It was a silver flute that caught my eye.

Learning to play it became my goal.

But I don’t have to choose, do I?

Playing both instruments would

Make me more valuable.

Now that you’ve been fixed

I’m going to hold

Both of you

Near my

Heart.

Note: Poetry form is a Double Etheree.

Flutter on By

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The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough. ~Rabindranath Tagore, Indian poet, composer, and philosopher

Some

People

Believe that

Seeing a blue

Butterfly is a

Sign of good fortune and

Indicates that you’re about

To receive a reward for your

Noble and honorable efforts.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if that were true?

I’m not positive, but I think this is

A red-spotted purple admiral.

Seeing this one’s pretty blue wings

Brought me lots of happiness.

Blue butterflies are rare!

It’s my good fortune,

And I wanted

To share it

With you

Now.

Note: Poetry form is Double Etheree. If you’d like more information about this butterfly, please see the Butterfly Identification site. And for information about the symbolism of seeing a blue butterfly, please see Animals A-Z.

Singing with Abandon

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A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. ~Chinese proverb

I
Looked out
My window
And saw these two
Curious finches
Perched in a dogwood tree,
Glancing into the distance.
I couldn’t help wondering what
Their tiny, beady eyes were seeing
As they peered into space … and perhaps time.

Flitting from branch to branch, the two finches
Kept up a constant chattering sound,
Filling the air outside with a
Delightful round of music.
Would that people, too, felt
Free to sing their songs
Shamelessly and
Fearlessly,
Without
Qualm.

Note: Poetry form is Double Etheree. You can find out more about this form here.

Tiny Tree Update, 2023

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Of the living gymnosperms the conifers — pine, cedar, spruce, fir and redwood trees — are the most successful biologically. The needle-like leaves of these evergreens are well adapted to withstand hot summers, cold winters and the mechanical abrasion of storms. ~Claude Alvin Villee, Jr., American biologist and long-time teacher, Harvard University

Why

I felt

Compelled to

Check up on my

Tiny Tree after

A bitter snowstorm is

A myst’ry, but I did and

Voila! As you can plainly see,

He (or she) is growing and thriving

And celebrating its second birthday!

Tiny Tree is an Eastern Juniper.

Also known as red cedar, this tree

Measures forty-eight inches tall!

Who’d have given it a chance

To survive in such a

Harsh environment?

Somewhere below

Ground lies its

Bright red

Scarf!

Note: This poetry form is a Double Etheree.

Bunnies Times Two

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I

Stretch up

To the sky

So I can reach

Something good to eat.

This green thing looks okay.

It’s not what I’d like, but it

Will have to do because I am

So very hungry and I don’t see

Anything else the lady has put out.

It’s raining and I have to wonder why

This lady has a camera on me.

Doesn’t she have anything else

To do with her time than click

At me when I’m hiding

Here beneath this bush,

Trying to stay

Oh so dry

In the

Rain?

 

Note: Poetry form is Double Etheree.