sun spangled

memorial day -
the sun finally comes out to
spangle the banners

sunday morning

sunday morning
yawns and stretches its way
into focus

steel gray

at the beach
a steel gray silence
as summer begins

A Path without memories

The curve of a star
A Path without memories
of inadequacy or unworthiness

. . . . . . . .

Today's OED word of the day: depression.
Probably chosen after viewing the Seattle forecast for Memorial Day weekend.

the sweetest flowers

from the noxious
Nature can bring
the sweetest flowers

. . . . . . . .

Today's erasure poem|commentary comes, as always, from the online OED word of the day, 'traduce.'

labels

snag is to sculpture
as weed is to flower —
label power

And every afternoon was lovely

ships devoured all Care,

the Years, thick and long between Adventures
It made a man thirsty.

Light on blindingly beautiful mountains, glaciers, and
Days of travel
along a well-chosen map

And every afternoon was lovely,
all sky and water and shoreline behind me

. . . . . . . .

Oops, it's not yet tomorrow in the UK, so the word of the day in the OED online is still 'poplar.' But the erasure poem is quite different from yesterday's (poplar being a three-page entry helps!), inspired by sketching at Fishermen's Terminal.

feeding on moonlight

tall trees
whispering silvergreen
by the cool stream

Spring had come,
feeding on moonlight

Days of travel
along endless avenues
stretched ahead
abundant and inviting

. . . . . . . .

Today's OED word of the day for the erasure poem was 'poplar.' The sketch started with a rubbing of the names of six Northwest indigenous Native American tribes in the Lushootseed alphabet and in English.

buds tremble

deep in the forest
the spring buds tremble
in the bees' wake

LBW

now the indians
are wearing the white hats —
saturday cricket

brooding

Divine love
a beautiful flower
brooding

. . . . . . . .

Today's OED word of the day for the erasure poem was, rather surprisingly, "Holy Ghost."

snow white

strangely enough
I've never seen snow white ducks
on the beach before

"beauty"

in nature
the label "beauty"
has no boundaries

the thread

Water striking rocks
a small hole cut by means of
the thread through both

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day is 'pilot hole,' the basis of this erasure poem.

Tempestuous Journey

Nature, with a little trembling,
savors Hope
in her Tempestuous Journey
to growth

Free from time

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem is "remiss."

madcap showers

The hills
look very dismal
as Madcap showers
Gossip with the wind
Blowing in
so strong from the sea,
the towering pine-trees
are now bargaining
with the fish

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem is 'squally.'

open enthusiastically

open the door to the Morning
enthusiastically

In this spirit,
we needn't listen
to past history

. . . . . . . .

What with the six hour time difference, "today's" OED word of the day is still the same one I used yesterday, so this erasure poem|commentary erases different words from 'past history.'

Participating in today's Worldwide Sketchcrawl, the Seattle Urban Sketchers enjoyed Georgetown today. This sketch is the back of one of the Cold Storage buildings - not holding up quite as well as Jules Maes Saloon (since 1888!), where we reconvened for ales and the traditional sketchbook sharing.

buttercups

observation
of the present
must open the door to

spirit

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day used, as usual, for today's erasure poem|commentary is "past history."

smiles

SMILES

Life is Sweeter
on the Beach.

Simple is best.

. . . . . . . .

Well, if I'd known the OED word of the day - Normandy - for this erasure poem|commentary would end up thusly, I'd have sketched the beach not the creek.

But SMILES are rampant at both.

cottonwood

the old cottonwood
still shakin' its booty
in the may breeze

bumblebee

the bumblebee
and I investigating
the same blossom

sunbreaks

May weather debate:
"partly sunny" versus
"mostly cloudy"

stacking blocks

stacking containers —
the professional version
of Jenga

. . . . . . . .

For those of you scrunching your faces into a "Hunh??", Jenga is a Milton-Bradley game of stacking/balancing wooden blocks into a tower until one causes the whole structure to fall. It has a certain mesmerizing appeal for all ages.

pared-down

I have ideas about art
as the pared-down
directness of nature

It's also When
you imagine the hidden pieces.

. . . . . . . .

Today's OED word of the day for the erasure poem/commentary is "process art."

Endurance

the Endurance crew
far from its Sitka home port
blasting reggae

. . . . . . . .

The Seattle plein air group met up at Fishermen's Terminal today. It was gorgeous and sunny, with huge cumulus clouds as a backdrop, but a fairly nasty wind complicated things a bit. The reggae warmed us all up at least five degrees. After our lunch, I went out for this final view.

volunteer work

early May —
in Volunteer Park everything
is willing to bloom

. . . . . . . . .

In Volunteer Park these days, the only thing more staggering than the scent of honeysuckle is the sixty Japanese woodblock prints on exhibit at SAAM. "Fleeting Beauty" indeed. If you're in the neighborhood, run don't walk.

cinco de mayo

cinco de mayo —
it's hard to hold a Corona
with mittens on

may comfort

early may —
the comfort of being
naked no more

3 may

the season's
first cruise ship
dwarfing
the real world

Sunday Walks

Sunday Walks
when I have occasion
for a new Song

. . . . . . . .

Today's OED word of the day is 'jump,' the obsolete British noun referring to a short jacket: something still needed on the first Sunday walk in May.

may day

tulips —
may day cacophony
in the market