Warm...

Isabella's NYC ~ Passion Fruit Martini ~ December 2012

Warmth radiating from within
A moment of complete silence
Worries of the day...a memory

Quiet

Skyline...

Bright Lights, Little City ~ November 2012

I was so taken by how much my favorite little mushroom patch looked like a city skyline.
Buildings, lights, hustle and bustle below.
A world unto its own.

Defiant...

Flowering Kale ~ November 2012 ~ SOOC

A ruffle of colored feathered wings
A crag of protective thorns
A diamond in the rough

Storm...

Eye of Storm Sandy ~ October 2012

A candle glaring back at me as the eye of the storm shrouded our home in darkness.

Threads...

October 2012

Delicate
Strength to rival Midas
Invisible
Fortress wall to those aware
Ugly
Regal to the wind

Unchained...

Old Sturbridge Village ~ September 2012

Meant to protect
Offered to keep
Gifted in strength
Plagued to be weak

Ink...

Old Sturbridge Village ~ September 2012

The day had hidden the sun
Offering only a glimmer behind opaque clouds
A note to a lover
He wrote quickly of hopes and dreams
The page before him refused to absorb his ink offering
His promises rolling from the page like tears
Instead his words remained bonded to the quill
For they too would never take flight

Praying...

A Praying Mantis endured a ride on the back of my car during a torrential downpour. We released him into our backyard. September 2012

Caught between here and home
A cautious reach beyond what is familiar
Sensing that change has been set in motion
Praying the future provides peace

Uncommon...

Blackberry Hill Flower Patch ~ July 2012

I like being different than everyone else...
Not always easy.
I like having my own thoughts...
Not always popular.
I like how my intuition has served me well...
Not always accepted.
I like being uncommon...
Always true.

Shared...

Tea Ceremony ~ UMAC ~ June 20, 2012

Silent understanding shared between teacher and student
The next stage of the journey commences

Quiet warrior...

UMAC Fishkill ~ June 2012

In the stillness
Energy resonates
A rare idle moment
Echoes of spirit
Suspended meditation

Crash...

Bumper Cars ~ Danbury Fair 2012

Sometimes you just gotta stand your ground...

Just...

Sunset over Brewster ~ May 2012

She didn't mean to be beautiful...
She just is.
She never intended to take your breath away...
She just did.
She couldn't know that she would leave you speechless...
She just can.

Purple...

After days of rain
Purple was the color of Spring today

Winged...

Drying her wings in the sun
She took her time
Contemplating her next adventure

Little...

Tiny mushroom ~ SOOC ~ May 10, 2012

Everything starts out small...
That doesn't mean it isn't important.
Rather, it has room to grow into something great!

One at a time...

Norm's ~ Brewster, NY ~ May 10, 2012

Sometimes it seems so easy
To get the job done
Sometimes you need to take your time
And tackle them...one...by...one

Diner...

Daily Planet An American Diner ~ May 9, 2012

Take a seat at the counter
Order a milkshake, extra thick
Swivel back and forth
Pick up your knees and try to make it all the way around
Admire doughnuts perched under glass domes
Another refill on your coffee
A new friend saddles up to your left
And orders breakfast although the clock says it's way past dinner

Wet paint...

Paint cans ~ SOOC ~ May 9, 2012

Drove by this today and had to stop and get a shot
All these cans of paint were carefully stacked up next to a pristine white picket fence
I was struck by the whole "clean canvas and artist's palette" concept

Word...

To say it
Believe it in your heart
To hear it
Believe it in your soul
To feel it
Believe it with all you that you are

Type...

Typewriter in Molly Darcy's ~ April 2012

Keys frozen midsentence
A thought...incomplete
Writer's block subsided
Her mind outpaces her fingers

Step...

March of Dimes Walk ~ April 2012

Standing on their own
Gait longer and more confident
Moving forward
A future...one step at a time

Blossom...

Chuang Yen Monastery ~ April 2012

To grow
To start anew
To breathe life into an otherwise monochromatic existence
To BE

What do you see?

Chuang Yen Monastery:  Prayer Incense

Ignited with a void to be filled
A flame fragrantly smolders
A prayer...a hope...a wish
Suspended, waiting for the right time
To fly freely to its rightful destination

All that remains...

Chuang Yen Monastery:  Remains of prayer incense

All that remains of a silent prayer
The essence already lifted by lazy smoke
Permeating unseen spaces
Restful closure in this life
Exhaling in the next

Riddled with Brushes...

Elizabeth Arden Wall of Brushes

Cosmetic brushes stuck through holes in a glass wall
The conference room side sports the handles
The side that faces the common area hallway boasts the soft brushes
Just thought it was cool...evidently, so did my little helper

Indirect...

Storm grate outside Connecticut Science Center

Free form energy forced to take direct course
From here to there, banished feelings of remorse

Living vicariously through siblings, water and air
Harboring memories, they have been there

Grounded and solid, a mirage in design
Only in body, never spirit, confined

Plumes...

Elizabeth Arden Cosmetic Brushes

Cheek to cheek
At attention
Chins up
Holding rank
Shadow of doubt
Military formation
Facing battle

Rest awhile...

Bull's Bridge:  These boulders are usually fully submerged

Slipcovered
Chair
Settee
Inviting a tired passerby to sit a spell

Free flowing...

Dover Stone Church

Cutting through the cold
Finding a way to be free
Silken cascade of joyful tears
Celebrating the path taken

Looking up, walking down...

Garage at Norwalk Aquarium

The choices...endless
The possibilities...infinite
The opportunities...priceless
Eager to explore

Building blocks...

Make no apology
Explanation not forthcoming
Only confidence
An understanding of self

Make no hesitation
Doubt not an option
Only strength
A comfort within

Yesterday's Flame...

Yesterday's flame
A venue provided
Broke through the dark
All walls subsided
A laugh, a tear, a memory shared
A random spark
If anyone cared
Respectfully left to stake claim to the eve
In the morning just a memory...a charred journal
I choose to believe

En pointe...

My old toe shoes

Floating...feet above the air
Lightly touching down...breathing before ascending
Turning faster...the music's gentle swell
Eyes locked...critiquing the mirror's reflection

Vintage...

Labeled with everything inside and out
There are no secrets, you know how it came about
Aware of the impact, how you will feel
Once you have decided to explore beyond the waxen seal
Now, image if people came with the same things so you'd know
What you were getting into, so you could decide to stay or go
Would you take the chance, take the risk with yourself?
Or would you allow the unlabeled person to gather dust on a shelf?

Still...

Reservoir between Middle Branch and East Branch

Void of the geese making commotion
Not a sea, not an ocean
Ice desperately trying to form
Progress thwarted each time it gets warm
The heavens offer an apology and promise of a chill
Ever patient, standing motionless and perfectly still

Waiting...

Playing hide and seek
Waiting for tide to come in
A small boat graveyard

Drummer...

He played for an audience of one
When the crowds were not there to distract
The drum answered him when he called
To translate his staccato dictation

Pottery...

I stumbled upon this at one of our taekwondo retreats
One of the cabins was used as a pottery studio
Inside there were bowls and vases of all shapes and sizes
I liked this one in particular
It was rustic in form, with free formed edges
In contrast, the imprint was elegant, uniformed and planned

Storm...

The storm was coming
Brewing beneath the icy surface
Like smoke billowing from a forgotten cigarette

Unrehearsed...

My favorite necklace, held it up, shot it with my iPhone

Uneven
Unscripted
Unmatched
Uninhibited
Unique

Weathered...

old church hallway (sooc)

Stained glass warmed the peeling layers of time

Warning signs...

The signs were there, she just chose not to see
Warnings of danger, of what might be
On thin ice she tread, ever testing fate
Wishing the next step, the hurt would abate
As luck would have it, that layer did crack
Wondering should she forge forward, or quickly turn back
Ahead was the promise of something new, something light
Wallowing behind was that "it", dark as night
She started to swim with confidence she never had before
Wading, exhausted, she pulled herself to shore
The ground pushed up to meet her, giving her time to realize what she had done
Whispered gently in her ear, "no need to look back, my love...you have won."

Motionless

Against an amber sky
They float on invisible waves
Motionless
Until the tide changes once more

Veggie silly...

Rather be a radish

Beats being a beet

Onion know

Being me is rooty veggie neat

Cold...

How cold it seemed on that January day
Looks can be deceiving, what can I say
Stature forlorn, weighed down by snow
But I was there and the truth, I know
No, it wasn't weakness or shame at all
It was not a day to spread her arms or proudly stand tall
For on that day the sun shone down and on leaves, a glisten
She was bowing in gratitude, the sun's wisdom she respectfully did listen

I know what I saw...

My moon on left.....Chinese artist's watercolor landscape on right

This is what my mind's eye saw when I looked up at the moon tonight
It witnessed depth and texture and layers just as an artist might

My mind's eye could only hold the image motionless for a mere moment in time
You see, clouds and stars and the moon refuse to follow a set line

Guess...

One
A tongue
One
A road
One
With which to stick
I'll give it a moment
Just a moment
For my rhyme to finally click

One thing...

Even in a sea of beauty you can still find that one thing that takes your breath away

One thing that makes you smile

One surprise you didn't expect

One sparkle that feeds the glow inside you

Even on an ordinary day you can still find it...with an open heart...you will see it

View from a playground...

Playground at Union Square

Soft edges of a child's sight
Admiring the hard edges of the adult world