Amputated Moon

find me at the foot of the dune

            wind swirling around me

call to me in the deep gully

            where the saguaro rises to the sun

all day the shadows shift sideways

            playing tag with the heat

the ground beneath heaves and subsides

            in synch with the wind’s gasps

sand dunes always in motion

            stability is not an option

my book rests open against a lone stone

            pages flutter like moth wings around a flame

the words will rise from the page

            into the blowing wind

carried on particles of sand and grit

            woven into the desert herself

I am chimera

            half light, half darkness

filled with words that do not rest

            wait here with me

Pamela Olson, 5/9/08

This poem was written in response to the prompt

“desert” at One Single Impression

throw cautiousness into the air

high and higher still

juggle it with maybe

one side of the same coin

how human to face the unknown

with fear and trembling

how human to suddenly throw

caution aside and leap

high and higher still

into the air

dance with maybe

and see what comes

Pamela Olson, 5/7/08

This poem was written from the prompt of

Three Word Wednesday (cautious, human,

and maybe).

They stand at the doorway to sleep

sentinels to my dreams

they always appear in threes

I think they might disappear

one at a time– deep in the darkness

at the doorway to sleep

Sleep starts and stops

the night grows heavy

I think they might appear

My dreams are unlocked

flowing in a river of thought

one at a time—deep in the darkness

Pamela Olson, 5/5/08

This poem was inspired by the prompt

Monday Mural at Poefusion.

walk through the desert

drink in the hot arid air

exposed to the wind

strip me bare of all façade

truth shines like a grain of sand

Pamela Olson, 5/4/08

This tanka was written for the prompt,

desert at One Single Impression

Photo courtesy of Tom Claytor

www.claytor.com

I am deserted

lonely blackbird in the sky

a single feather

slides across my line of sight

a sign of impending change

Pamela Olson, 5/3/08

This tanka was written in response to the prompt

(desert or deserted) by One Single Impression.

Bring me the sunset in a cup,

            claret-clear and constant;

and pull down the whispered-white clouds,

            wrap them on my shoulders.

Round the stars sprinkled in the dusk,

            baubles within your hand;

lay them around my narrow wrist,

            a bracelet filled with light.

These gifts will be your best response

            to my unsaid desires,

which lie sharp-edged between us two

            in the gathering night.

Pamela Olson, 4/30/08                      

Emily Dickinson’s line, “Bring me the sunset in a cup”

is the prompt at Poefusion.

patterns carefully played out

along the shoreline

beside the rip currents

and the sea stacks

waves thrumbing

in slow bass strokes

tumbling closer toward

intentional furrows and ridges

the meaning is clear

to show you a lesson in futility

Pamela Olson, 4/29/08

This poem was written for the picture

and word prompt at Two for Tuesdays.

it was not silence

for the mourning dove called

and the trees whispered within their leaves

telling of the changes to come

it was not loneliness

for we held hands as

you and I walked in the field

toward a still pond

it was not want

for what more could I have

beside home, family, friends,

food, and meaningful work

and yet the silence between us

apparent and real

the loneliness and want

cry out with each footstep

how can we be something

for each other when

we are not that for ourselves

Pamela Olson, 4/28/08

This poem was written in response to a prompt at Poefusion.

one white bloom arrives

among spent-blossoms and leaves

as April departs

Pamela Olson, 4/27/08

This haiku was written for the prompt

“Flowering” at One Single Impression.