Paul Butters

Jul 2014

Elizabeth Squires

A-Artifacts of long ago they're ever searching out
R-Relics in the Earth's soil layers interred deep
C-Curios from cultures past they're excavating out
H-History is alive in the things buried so deep
A-Abroad and at home their trowels seeking out
E-Enlightening the world with fragments of the deep
O-Open our eyes to the objects they shovel out
L-Lasting stories of past societies entombed down deep
O-Ongoing discoveries made with what they dig out
G-Great civilizations lie in quietness beneath the deep
I-Interesting journals and facts these specialists put out
S-Saving the ken of ancestries which are lodged deep
T-Times way back in eons past to-day bought out
S-Surfacing from the ground out of a sleep most deep

Jul 2014

Elizabeth Squires

Winter Sun

whispering breeze touching the calm
of the slumbering brine
patches of green fronds on their stems
stark against cloud white sublime

warmth from the blessed heaven above
staving off chill to the bone
stillness and peace yet undisturbed
ocean not showing a foam

island by mist gently is kissed
breaking horizon of blue
such a fine line bordering that
seen as an edge to a few

but to the eye searching and bold
adventure the call luring strong
beckoning offering that yet unknown
a wistful and sweet lilting song

sweet odor of lush green cut grass
mingling in the salt air
west of the reef gentle the tide
nurtures the sand with a care

where else a calm daily as here
far north of Queensland's east coast
between Townsville and Cairns
winter escape proving this no idle boast

Paul Butters Jul 2014

Midsummer

Summer sun surrounds us.
Those icy biting winds are long forgotten.
We’re smothered by sultry, moisture-laden air.
A cooling breeze
Cuts through the verdant smell of fresh-mown grass.
The kids are playing:
Shouting loud.
Flock birds twitter,
What a crowd!

Those early mists give way to sun,
And wispy high-clouds stain the blue.
A happy sky to oversee our fun,
With sun to highlight every hue.

The Summer Solstice has been and gone
And nights will soon be getting long.
But it’s still hot I hear you say,
Who cares if thunder’s on the way.

We pay for sun with thunderstorms:
In Britain the weather soon transforms.
Yet now it’s time to cease the day;
I’d better send you on your way.

Hottest day of year in London but thunderstorms elsewhere.

#sun #summer #sky #holidays

Jul 2014

Rob Rutledge

Hyperion

Tears vermilion reflecting the night,
St Elmo's fire burning bright,
Sea sick sailors pray for the light
Doomed and forgotten nets are dry.
Albatross soars, wings of flight
Guiding the lost with cries of gulls,
Let us laugh at their misfortune,
Schadenfreude
Styx flows too soon,
Gold on each eyelid
The Titans shall have their due.

Hyperion weeps to Neptune's view
As Icarus burns to seas of blue
And the sails catch on,
Enlightened by the
Dawn multifaceted hue.
Scarlet prism gems
Reflect the fallen, truth
Through crimson tinted lens.

Jul 2014

Rob Rutledge

The Stars

When precisely? We're none too sure.
Between the glow of progress
And the clawing of the walls?
Perhaps.
Somewhere along the western shores
We lost the stars of ancient lore
We forgot the lanterns of the sky.
Drowned in artificial days and
The swell of time.
Let these crests fall and fade,
Accustomed to the eye.
Storms of solace, the galaxy
Burns fires of hubris.