Holly in a Vase
Mid-December
A gray gauze settles
across sky to lake’s surface
where wind has woven
a patchwork of snow and ice.
A few flakes fall
through the frigid air,
flecks of diamond,
sprinkles of stardust –
hemlock hums winter’s song.
Lainie Senechal
Storm Approaches Moody Beach #1
A Slight Storm
First snow sifts silently
through still air,
not a blizzard but
a quick coating that
lays a soft blanket
over brown leaves,
while pellets of sleet
sting cold cheeks.
Near shore a white smudge
lies above the tide line,
where gulls search
sand for sustenance,
beside a sea that
barely rises in slight storm.
Lainie Senechal
Pumpkins #2
November Dance
Wind ruffles lake’s surface,
whose waves lightly pound
stones that line the shore.
A flock of yellow butterflies –
loosened leaves flutter in breeze.
Even black nights are bedecked
with bright diamonds.
No sudden changes to send
the howl of Arctic blasts;
mild November dances in
with utter delight.
Lainie Senechal
Announcement: Poetry series with open mic at Amesbury Public Library, Tuesday, Nov. 29th, featured reader is Maggie Dietz. Lainie will host the event.
Autumn Wind
Fall Takes Another Step
Fall takes another step forward.
Blustery breezes leave branches empty –
all colorful leaves lost.
The trees do not miss them,
their thoughts curve away,
their productive season ends.
They will peacefully sleep
through claps of thunder snow
and winter’s wild winds.
Lainie Senechal
Announcement: Lainie will exhibit her artwork in the 2016 Amesbury Open Studio Tour on Nov. 12th & Nov. 13th. She will also hang 100 haiku along the tour route.
Acorns
The Acorn
A ping on picnic table,
a thump in humus,
a crack against granite outcrop,
a splash into fountains flow,
in autumn wind, leaves of oak
wave farewell to her children
who plummet down,
manna for inhabitants
of the forest below.
Squirrel scolds curious cat
for disturbing frenetic
gathering of bounty.
food for winter, freely
given, freely taken,
a pantry open to all.
I roam, unexpectedly,
the woods of childhood –
the place where
the great teacher dwells.
I beg for a sign of remembrance
to the devotee who loved so well.
On the path ahead lies a large acorn,
the sign of recognition,
passed secretly from healer
to healer in the Burning Times.
This tiny womb – a promise
and a gift for one who was
nurtured and is nurtured still.
Lainie Senechal
Announcement: Lainie hosts a poetry series at the Amesbury Public Library. The next event is Wednesday, October 26th at 6 PM. Alfred Nicol is the featured reader.
Moon, River and Whittier Bridge
The Autumn Soul
A slow shift of the sun
that fades incrementally from
Northern skies in a final
canopy of brilliant crimson.
No longer an early riser,
the day brightens gradually.
A few hot hours linger,
a melancholy for something
missed settles into
the autumn soul.
Lainie Senechal
Announcement: Lainie will read her poetry at “The Arts and the Experience of Nature” event at the Joppa Flats Audubon Center. Newburyport, MA on Wednesday, October 19th at 7:30pm.
The Hummingbird
The Hummingbird in Whittier’s Garden
Ruby-throated hummingbird
appears suddenly among
bright ruby-colored blossoms
in Whittier’s August garden
during annual reading -
darts swiftly from flowerlet
to flowerlet, thrusts its bill
down each tiny tube.
Listeners become observers,
words float unheard
into warm summer air.
Focus now on blurred wings
of tiny visitor, intent on
gathering sustenance, who takes
no notice of silent admirers and
disappears suddenly to seek
nectar from other flowers,
for poetry provides no purpose
in its petite world.
Lainie Senechal
Daylilies
I find your face
in sepia photographs
of our first encounter;
your visage lifts my heart
like the great fluttering
of a thousand doves.
How I protest this separation.
I search for a glimpse
but the window’s glass plate
has darkened by eternal decree.
Love, however, cannot be contained,
love follows no commands –
the joy of the heart overflows
into a never-ending stream
that forever connects our lives.
“Love never says, ‘This is the last’ “.
Lainie Senechal
I read this poem at my brother Ray’s funeral. He passed away suddenly on August 17. He was 57 years old. The last line is a quote from the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh.
Along the Shore
Salisbury Summer
Summer on Salisbury Beach,
a week at my Aunt’s cottage,
adults worked all day,
Two cousins and I left on our own.
At ten years old unfamiliar,
but desired, days of freedom.
Instructions: “You can go to
the beach but stay near lifeguards.”
Our unknowing babysitters,
who paid little attention,
more focused on bathing beauties,
applying sunscreen, on blankets nearby.
We rode waves so rough
they slammed us into the strand,
filled our bathing suits with sand.
We arose coughing and sputtering
from swallowed salt water
then raced through the surf
to catch another wild ride.
When bored, we walked
to jetty of large, black rocks,
leapt from boulder to boulder,
scraped hands and feet
on slippery, rough surfaces,
while sea pounded through
gaps in rock pile below.
In evening we would wander home,
fall asleep early with expectations
for another day that
would be fully ours.
Lainie Senechal
Published in Ibbetson Street #39, June 2016
Announcement: Lainie will read poetry at The Whittier Home and Tapestry of Voices 18th annual collaborative reading of the poetry of and inspired by John Greenleaf Whittier on Sunday, August 14 from 3-4:30 PM. The poetry reading will take place in the Victorian garden of the Whittier Home Museum, 86 Friend street, Amesbury, MA.
Summer Roses
Pulse of July
Pulse of July’s languid hours:
blueberries ripening to deep purple,
lilies aligned in colorful arrays.
Ivory egrets,with graceful steps,
scout among green marsh grasses
that bend in warmer winds.
Heat and humidity have arrived –
energy is lost to move one muscle.
When winter’s blast whitens land
regrets will arise for passing
of these pleasant summer days.
Lainie Senechal