A Modern Version

In keeping with the theme of the Tanka poetry, I decided to write in the same style but using a more modern approach, which is, straying away from the topic of nature. The following poems, although written in the Tanka style, deal with the subject of romance and love.

Needless to say, romance and love encompass a vast variety of emotions, situations and ideas that made writing these poems a true challenge. The most difficult part of this writing was to embody so much in such limited phrases; an effort that proved to be thought provoking, frustrating, and time consuming.

The following is the results of my efforts and I sincerely hope you enjoy reading them. I also hope that these poems will inspire you to think of your own ways to express your feelings, your emotions and your thoughts of what you think is romantic and loving. 

  

Within Sincere Hearts

Walking hand in hand,

Discussions of future plans,

Splitting a soda,

Shopping together for clothes,

Little things that deeply bond

….

Finding the right card,

Planning a surprise party,

The ideal present,

Choosing the perfect outfit,

Cherished gifts to a lover

….

A radiant smile,

Eyes sparkling with dreams to come,

Laughter pure and sweet,

Flowing hair soft and silky,

Thoughts of that special someone

….

Tender caresses,

Moist lips longing to be kissed,

Loving words spoken,

Passions needing fulfillment,

Partner waiting to be loved

….

Romantic music,

Candlelight dinner for two,

A single red rose,

Cologne light yet exciting,

Letting her know she’s special

….

Sexy lingerie,

Perfume soft and alluring,

Lights dimmed way down low,

A drink to enhance the mood,

Letting him know he’s special

….

Knowing smiles of love,

Silly laughter in the night,

Eyes filled with desire,

Fervid kisses of oneness,

Expressions of loving hearts

….

Walks on sandy shores,

Romantic sunsets cherished,

Loving embraces,

Awakened by soft kisses,

Treasured moments together

….

Times of happiness,

Tears of misunderstandings,

Words of forgiveness,

Acceptance and compassion,

Feelings shared between sweethearts

….

Breakfast served in bed,

Affectionate hug and kiss,

Preparing a bath,

A long sensuous massage,

Enrapturing a soulmate

….

Tenderness, fervor,

Caring and understanding,

Truly listening,

Respect and equality,

Essence of genuine love

….

Quiet nights at home,

Cuddling in each other’s arms,

Sharing hot cocoa,

And the Portuguese Sonnets,

Memories for a lifetime

 

Chelle Munroe©

September 25, 2014

 

 

 

Life Changing Times

Part Three

Path Toward Tomorrow

Lofty mountain tops,

Your unparalleled vistas

Embody my soul,

And like a lost child come home,

I yearn your peaceful bosom

….

Within summer woods,

The shy brook trickles along,

Patiently awaits

Soaking rains for renewed strength

To babble to nearby trees

….

Run sacred river

Run wild and ever be free,

If you could just run

Much faster and far enough

To escape calamity

….

Below still pictures,

Woeful captions tell the tales

Of fish existed,

Before the factory ships

And pollution took their toll

….

Prodigious glaciers

Elegant and heart-stirring

To countless tourists,

Including the betrayers

Who neglect global warming

….

Close your eyes children

And let your mind imagine

Vast thick green forests

Filled with exotic wildlife

Before they were stripped away

….

Picturesque daydreams

Of velvety green meadows,

Summon memories

Of ticklish barefoot gambols,

And blitheful days of youth

….

Newspaper headlines,

Earth’s cessation imminent,

Resources bankrupt,

Transgressors in denial,

Money muted and useless

 

  

Chelle Munroe©

August 19, 2014

Life Changing Times

Part Two

Life Changing Times

Doorstep of Today 

 

Hushed miniscule beads

Mysteriously appear,

 Veiled as vernal dew,

Refresh flora and wildlife

And give rise to a new Spring

…

Splendid crowns afire,

Holly trees proudly display

Festive red and green,

Nature’s decorative gift

In the wild and wreaths on doors

….

Choice lavender fields

Caress our eyes with delight,

Then yield their blossoms

And unleash the precious oils

That enrich us with fragrance

….

No longer pristine,

Bottles, cans and sordid trash

Adorn sandy shores,

Respect for life all but gone,

Where is the conscience, the guilt?

….

The noble forest,

Beautifully green and rich,

Ever dignified,

Before its base defilement

And the scars of acid rain

….

Birds and marine life

Mortally smothered in oil,

Scattered on beaches,

Products of catastrophes,

Augurs of changes needed

….

Gallant mountain razed,

Ecosystem sabotaged,

All for lumps of coal,

Irreversibly tragic,

Yet greed has let it happen

….

Nature, pure and free

Embraces all, yet abused,

Taken for granted,

Spurned by ungrateful lovers,

Weeps silently for days past

Chelle Munroe©

August 19, 2014

Life Changing Times

At one stage of my life, I became interested in writing poetry and I tried different styles, hoping that I could pen my ideas with a true sense of feeling that would be realized and appreciated by the reader. But, as happens with many who sit to write poetry, I wasn’t truly happy with what I was creating and thus gave it up.

I had completely lost interest until I discovered a form of poetry called, “Tanka”. It is a Japanese form of poetry and considered to be the original form of the Japanese short poem. The Tanka consists of five units and follows a certain pattern. That is, each unit is a line and each line follows a set number of syllables. Tanka has 5 lines and a total of 31 syllables which are written as follows:  5, 7, 5, 7, 7.

The first three units make up the first section which is called the ‘kami-no-ku’ meaning the upper phrase. And the last two units make up the second section which is called the ‘shimo-no-ku’ meaning the lower phrase.  Nature was the foundation within the tanka theme, but has since evolved into an “anything goes” style of writing. Tanka was also the basis from which Haiku developed.

For whatever reason, on my birthday, I decided to write some tanka in the original and traditional format. I chose the theme – “Life Changing Times” and incorporated the poems into three categories of the theme……the past; the present; and the future. Each category consists of eight poems and each poem, although connected within the category, is in fact, a complete poem within itself that could stand on its own.

Life Changing Times

Window to Yesterday

Majestic mountains,

Aesthetic and enchanting,

Beckon the conquer,

Resist the ultimate quest,

Then feign their acquiescence

….

Drenching spring downpours

Glimmer in crystalline pools,

Quench the parched desert,

And transform the barren wild

Into a sublime bouquet

….

Fair ocean sunset

Painted with a master’s brush,

A boon from nature,

Gloriously breathtaking,

Etched life-long in witnessed hearts

….

Filigree snowflakes

Abound with quietude,

Form a downy cloak,

And seductively snare all

In a pure white tapestry

….

Mighty regal waves

Thunder on the time-worn shore,

Stir my ardent heart,

Meld us as kindred spirits,

Then leave me deluged in awe

….

Whispers of daylight

Subdue the black horizon,

Announce the new dawn,

While wispy soft gray fingers

Nestle sleepy stars to bed

….

Antarctic tundras

Essential life-giving force

Grace the face of earth,

Spectacles from eons past,

Guardians of our future

….

Nature, pure and free,

Unique in our galaxy,

Unselfish partner,

Furnisher of enjoyment,

Breath for scientific minds

Chelle Munroe©

August 19, 2014

The Envelope

Just as Tina stepped from the office building to the sidewalk, she spotted her bus pulling away from the curb and blending in with the traffic. If she hadn’t stopped to use the ladies room she would have been on time. She checked her watch and realized she was on time but the bus had come early. Now she would have to wait half an hour for the next bus or walk three blocks to catch a bus from there which would drop her off a little over a block away from where her usual bus stopped.

She started walking and felt a shiver from the cold wind that seemed to have picked up. She turned her collar up and buttoned the top button on her coat. In the middle of the second block, she spotted a man hunched down with his arms wrapped across his chest to keep warm. He looked up at her and didn’t say a word just nodded. The sadness in his eyes said it all and she shivered again but not from the cold. At the corner coffee shop, she bought a large coffee and a bagel. Before stepping back outside, she removed an envelope from her briefcase and placed a twenty dollar bill inside and sealed it. Tina backtracked to where the man was still squatting.

She paused in front of him and when he looked up, she said, “I thought you might enjoy this being as it is getting colder. It may help to keep you warm.”

She then handed him the coffee and the bag with the bagel and the envelope.

“Thank you,” he smiled weakly and took the items from her outstretched hands.

“You’re welcome,” she replied and turned and walked away. On the next block, there were two nuns in front of a small table with a sign on it that read, “Please help the poor.”

She started to walk past then stopped and reached into her pocket and pulled out the two one dollar bills she had gotten in change at the coffee shop and stuffed them into the slot in the locked box on the table.

The nuns smiled, thanked her and in unison said, “May God bless you.”

Tina turned and proceeded to the corner to wait for the bus along with a small number of other people. The nuns’ words repeated themselves in her mind and she thought about how she had stopped praying when her son Michael, not long after his father died, moved out of the house and never contacted her again. She had prayed incessantly asking God to return Michael to her to no avail. After the fourth year, with her hopes diminished, she prayed less and less until she finally prayed no more.

Turning to look back toward the nuns, Tina noticed the man she had helped holding the coffee and bagel out to someone in one of the doorways.  A moment later, a small gray haired woman, Tina hadn’t noticed, stepped from the doorway and took the coffee and bag. She then reached out and touched his arm and he tenderly bent down and kissed her head. The man then moved toward the table with the box for donations for the poor and Tina watched him stuff the envelope she had given him in the slot, before turning to disappear into the crowd.

Unable to resist her curiosity, Tina hurried back to the table and asked the nuns,
“Do you know that man?”

Both nuns smiled and the shorter of the two answered, “Yes, he’s an angel.”

“Thank you,” was all Tina said and returned to the bus stop in time to catch the bus. On the trip home, she couldn’t help thinking about the cliché the nun had used to describe the man who had put the envelope in the box. Tina smiled. To the nuns, she imagined that everyone who made a donation was an angel.

It wasn’t until later that night when Tina was cuddled on the couch with her afghan, drinking a hot cup of coffee that the day’s events struck her. The nuns had been right. That man was an angel. Tina had bought him coffee and a bagel from loose bills she had jammed in her pocket in the morning and the twenty dollars she could well afford so the reality was that she only sacrificed what was really not a sacrifice at all.

The man, however, made the true sacrifice. He gave the coffee and bagel to a woman he felt needed it more than he and the twenty dollars which would have been enough to get a cheap bed for the night to be warm; he gave instead to those he believed were needier. She sunk a little lower and shook her head. From the time she had gotten on the bus to just a few minutes before, she had praised herself for the kindness she had shown. She had patted herself on the back.  But now she realized her actions paled in comparison to the selfless generosity that man showed toward others. He gave without so much as wanting praise or a pat on the back. He gave from his heart not his wallet. He gave his all and gave it willingly.

Tina turned her head and looked toward the fireplace and spotted the small crucifix hanging above the mantel. She shivered. Maybe, just maybe, she had been in the presence of a real angel. She shrugged her shoulders, finished her coffee and went to bed.

The next morning when Tina went to work, she looked to see if she could see the man but he was nowhere in sight. The nuns at the table were different than the nuns who was there the day before. Tina’s day passed without incident and again, on the way home, she looked to see if she could spot the man with the sad eyes, but as in the morning, she failed to do so.

That night, while in her favorite spot on the couch, only this time with a glass of wine, the phone rang. She looked at the number and not recognizing it figured it would be a telemarketer.

“Hello,” she said with an attitude.

The person on the other end cleared their throat before saying, “Mom?”

Tina sat up straight. “Michael? Is it really you?”

“Can I come home?”

Tina choked back the tears in her eyes and the lump forming in her throat. “Mmmi…Michael, yes, yes, yes you can come home! Where are you?”

“I’ll be there in five minutes,” Michael answered and hung up.

Tina sprang from the couch and starting pacing. “Oh my God. Oh my God,” was all she was capable of saying at the moment.

The doorbell rang and she jumped. Tina took deep breaths trying to exhale slowly in an effort to maintain her composure as she practically ran to the door and pulled it open. Michael stood for a moment before entering the house.

As soon as the door was closed, Tina threw her arms around him and cried uncontrollably. Moments later, Michael cried with her. They remained like that for a number of minutes. Tina pulled back and studied him. He was older but he looked great. A thousand questions raced through her mind but she forced herself not to pepper him with them and not to put pressure on him to explain. He was home and that was all that mattered.

She made him a coffee and some toast with butter and grape jelly, a favorite of his when he was living at home. She sat across from him and waited patiently for him to share what he wanted to talk about.

After his second slice of toast, Michael looked at her and said, “The strangest thing happened a couple days ago. I was thinking of you and home and feeling like I wanted to be here so I got on a bus and was on my way when sometime during the trip I fell asleep and someone stole what little money I had in my duffel bag. I didn’t know it until I got to the next bus terminal and couldn’t buy a ticket.

“I figured I would just have to hitch-hike the rest of the way. I didn’t even have enough money to buy a coffee and had to ask a couple people for some change. It was rather embarrassing. While I was there, this guy came up to me and handed me an envelope and walked away. At first, I thought he was one of those Jesus freaks you always hear about lurking around the bus or train stations, but when I opened the envelope, there was a twenty dollar bill in it.”

Tina buried her face in her hands and burst out crying. Michael didn’t have to describe the man or say anymore because she knew in her heart he was the man she had given the envelope to; the one the nuns called an angel.

Michael moved to her and put his arms around her shoulders. “Mom, are you okay? Did I say something wrong?”

With tear-stained cheeks she glanced up at him and said, “No Honey, you didn’t say anything wrong at all. You said the perfect thing. Thanks to an Angel, I have my faith and you back in my home and heart again.”

  Chelle Munroe©

   August 3, 2014

I Smell

I smell the salt air

Blowing in from the sea

It’s clean and refreshing

And very relaxing to me

I smell the green grass

Growing in the field nearby

Its newness strengthened

From the sun up in the sky

I smell the fragrance of Spring

Flowers coming into bloom

And vision how wonderfully

They beautify my room

I smell hamburgers

Cooking on the grill

My mouth watering

Eager to get my fill

I smell the gentleness

Of dew upon the lawn

Its life-giving moisture

Greets the new day morn

I smell the crisp night air

And feel my nostrils swell

Then gazing up to heaven

Thank God for the gift of smell

                                Chelle Munroe©

                                 July 16, 2014

A New Life

There was standing room only in the Great Hall and the cacophony of noise emanating from the arguing going on inside was enough to make a deaf person block his ears. The controversy had been going on for years with half the community believing one thing and the other half of the community believing just the opposite.

The two sides had never waivered in their positions regardless of the evidence presented to support each one’s point. But all of that took place during the reign of Corsnuk. Some say that it was because he really didn’t care while others argued that it was because he was old and weak and just couldn’t cope with making the strong decisions. Whatever the reason, Corsnuk was now dead and Palgris was now the Chieftain of all the clans.

Palgris was considered by all to be honest, fair and committed to the whole community, not just a few. Palgris was also the youngest Troll to have ever been elected to the leadership. He had wisdom beyond his years and everyone liked him. Even his enemies, if they could be called as such, liked him and trusted his judgment. Palgris favored no one in particular because he staunchly believed that the only way the Troll community could survive was to become one….to be fully united, lest the demise and eventual extinction of the Trolls would be inevitable.

Palgris entered the room and walked to the middle of the stage where he took his place in the Chieftain’s chair. Goltek slammed the gavel down with a mighty force and called the conference to order. Amazingly, the attendees in the room and those standing outside the building ceased their conversations. The din was replaced with eager silence as they waited for Palgris to address them.

Before Palgris stood up, one of his aides brought a basin of water, a bar of soap and a towel. Palgris took the soap and dipped his hands into the water and scrubbed them. As soon as Palgris was finished drying his hands, the aide left the stage. Palgris rose and moved to the lectern where he took a moment to peruse the crowd gathered. He felt proud that so many had come to hear what he had to say. He was also moved that so many trusted, believed and counted on him to lead the way to a new era.

He squared his shoulders. “Good evening and welcome. I thank you all for taking the time to come here tonight. Some of the things I will talk about will undoubtedly shake you to your core and many will disagree with me. But I am totally confident that once I finish explaining to you the reasons for my position, you will have a change of heart and support me for I have one and only one intention…..that is, to save our community and to unite us all once and for all.”

The room erupted with a loud applause. Palgris let it go on for a moment before raising his hand to silence them once again. When he spoke again, his voice was like velvet, smooth and soft and rich.

“We all know that our children are the most precious gifts we have and that we must find the way to protect them so they may grow and become strong able adults. We cannot do this with the way things are…..we have all seen the results of the carelessness and laziness that has plagued us for these past numbers of years. We can no longer be complacent and ashamed of who we are and what we stand for. Many of you have argued that we should take up arms and I say “No”. I strongly advise against it because to do so would only make us like the humans who claim us to be uncivilized and unable to live in a societal world with civility and wisdom.”

“And how do you propose to overcome that?” someone yelled out from the back of the room.

Palgris paused before answering to let the silence have its effects. He looked at all the faces staring at him with eager curiosity, knowing that the wrong word would cause disruption that would end the night and the chance to succeed.

“It is my contention that we must educate our children in the human ways. We…..”

The room filled with boos and hisses cutting off his words. He waited for them to calm before continuing on. “I am telling you that if we are to survive in this world, we must educate the young so that they can go into the world as our emissaries and ambassadors. They must know the world they will be forced to live in and it is better that they are prepared. Otherwise, they will face annihilation at the hands of those bigots who live within the human society.”

Just then a paper airplane flew from the crowd and landed at his feet. He casually picked it up and held it up for all to see. “Just as this plane has taken flight and come to the end of its journey, are we as the Troll Society of the world to do the same? Are we to continuously flee from one area to another? To take flight until we can no longer find a place and thus end our journey and become extinct like so many of the creatures of this world that have done so for millenniums before us?”

Palgris took a sip of water and continued. “We have been a proud race of beings in spite of having been labeled as the scum of the Earth. With the exception of these past years, we have always been a harmonious race living without bigotry or prejudice. We have embraced everyone on an equal basis and loved each other with complete sincerity of heart. We possess no need for greed, or lust nor need to be disloyal, dishonest, or untrustworthy because we all know that there is not one of us, including myself, who is better than the other. We are Trolls each and every one of us and I beg you now as your Chieftain to make the most brilliant decision of your life and to give your children the greatest gift of all: the pure knowledge to succeed and survive and to show the world our superiority of love for all.”

“Thank you.”

 There was no reaction from anyone at first but then, after a moment, one by one everyone stood up and clapped. There were many hoots and whistles and then the room exploded with shouts of “Palgris! Palgris!”

As Palgris stood looking out at his people, hearing them shouting his name and listening to their unity and support for his idea, a tear trickled down his cheek for he knew deep in his heart his children would have a new chance, a new life.

   Chelle Munroe ©

    July 6, 2014