Round and Round

He climbed on the brown horse,
the one with a purple saddle,
decorated with yellow swirls.
He felt like Aladdin
flying through the sky
on his magic carpet,
breezing through the clouds.
Then he spotted her.

Princess Jasmine
riding her white tiger
decorated with flowers and gems,
elegant, just like her.
Her hair flowed in the wind.
She looked at him and smiled.
It was like sunshine
on a rainy day.
It warmed his heart
as he rode through forests,
waterfalls and reflecting lakes.
Round and round.

They fought with valor,
racing side by side.
Sir Edward of England
on his pretty white mare,
Sir Gabriel of Spain
on his speedy black stallion.
Their swords clashed with might
as they rode through the forest.
Sun caught a glimpse of metal
and blinded Sir Edward
as he thrusts his sword
at Sir Gabriel,
who almost toppled over.
The crowd went wild.

Round and round.

The brothers dressed for war
in matching blue armor,
raising their swords,
shouting with might,
ready to fight… on horseback.
They rode through forests,
up and down the hills.
They raced through the lake,
their horses kicking up water.
They approached the castle,
slashing at their foes,
one by one, the enemies fell.
Round and round.

He held her close,
she clung to him.
it was her first ride.
Princesses are trained
to mount horses
and ride like a lady
at the tender age
of one.
She touched the horse
curiously.
She giggled and laughed
as they rode through the meadow.
Round and round.

The music stopped.
“Again, again!” they shouted.
Imagination runs wild.
Dreams come true.
Round and round.

One Month Anniversary

I haven’t posted in a while as I was busy being pregnant and taking care of a new baby.  Here is a new post inspired by that 🙂

baby
photo courtesy of Laura Lee Moreau

One Month Anniversary

The past month has been a blur.
Days and nights blend together
as I spend all my time with you – 
feeding, burping, changing, holding
you over 20 hours a day.

With disheveled hair and stained clothes,
not knowing if I showered or brushed my teeth,
no time to read or watch TV,
not truly understanding your needs.
but trying to keep my sanity.

I stare into your big, bright eyes
and watch you lift your head to root.
My heart feels warm and fuzzy
watching you smile in your sleep.

Today, I sit in this room with you
listening to music from the monitor –
classic instrumentals,
like the ones you hear at weddings.

Time slows down,
the rest of the world fades away.

In this moment, it’s just you and me
and this memory.

San Francisco

sf
~ photo by Jared Erondu

San Francisco
by Jenny Katherine Luu

I travel to the bay
on a beetle with yellow eyes
and a red tail,
through rivers of red and gold,
and rolling waves of cement…
I approach the man-made forest.

A thousand tree trunks
rise into the sky.
They’re only five feet apart,
barely space to walk,
barely space to breathe.

An elegant beauty where
a thousand tree trunks
are lit by fireflies
in the dark blue sky.

People, like squirrels, live in the trees.
People, like ants, swarm at the base.
I, like a fluttering bird,
watch mesmerized
at the organized chaos
between squirrel and ant
co-existing in the crowded forest.

A Mirage

mirage

~ photo by Stephen Radford

A Mirage
by Jenny Katherine Luu

It was a moonless night
on the Las Vegas strip.
The pleasure hotel was hidden
behind a magical mirage of smoke.

The stripper who looked like an angel
looked in the mirror with regret.
Her face glistened under the candlelight.
The flames danced in her eyes –
her eyes smothered with mascara.
The rose she held in her hand
glistened with her teardrops.

Petal by petal, the rose fell –
Her regret reflected in the glistening mirror.
Her face was that of oblivion.
She struggled to breathe
under the smothering smoke.

There was never pleasure.
There was always regret.
The angel stripped away her clothes
and disappeared into the smoke.

The hotel smothered in flames,
burned to the ground
hidden behind the mirage.

There was never pleasure.
There was always regret.
Nothing glistened.
Nothing glistened
in the moonless night.

 

(poem based on a writing exercise using repetitive keywords)

Reverse Poetry

Happy New Year everyone!  Sorry, I’ve been slacking off on my blog posts these days.  Anyhow, I will ring in 2019 with some creative poetry.  I came across this poem by Abdullah Shoaib from a friend’s post on Facebook and was inspired by the concept.

When you read the poem from top-down, the narrator has a low self-esteem, but if you read the poem from bottom-up, she is comfortable and confident.  This structure of displaying opposite messaging does take some careful crafting, so I decided to try one of my own as well =)  I hope you enjoy both poems and I encourage you to try one of your own.

pretty-ugly2

babys-first-breath.jpg