Category Archives: Announcements

Seagull & Announcement

Seagull, Plum Island

Seagull, Plum Island

Seagull #1

Gulls gather along the bar

exposed by receding tide,

squawk over dropped morsels;

occasionally, soar over ocean,

dive into the sea in search

of fish and clams. In evening
they desert the strand,

leave only prints
of their steps in the sand.

Lainie Senechal

Announcement:  Lainie will exhibit artwork and read poetry at:

Kaji Aso Studio presents
“Seagull” – Winter Festival 2017

Opening Reception:
Saturday, Jan. 21st from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
with poetry reading and music at 8 pm

First Day & Annoucement

Storm Approaches Moody Beach #2

Storm Approaches Moody Beach #2

First Day

The winter gales have

swept everything away.

The sea is empty, cold

and steely blue.

Sun lays a blanket

to warm bitter waters –

the sea is silent,

its dark heart

settled into the depths,

away from winter winds

which will arrive

with the next storm.

However, the hollowness

has opened a space

that, in season, will

lift the waves into

the warmth and light.

Lainie Senechal

Lainie is opening a solo exhibit at the Provident Bank, 1 Provident Way in Seabrook, NH.  The exhibit will continue until June 2017.  Reception information to be announced.

November Dance & Announcement

img-y01095319Pumpkins #2

November Dance

Wind ruffles lake’s surface,

whose waves lightly pound

stones that line the shore.

A flock of yellow butterflies –

loosened leaves flutter in breeze.

Even black nights are bedecked

with bright diamonds.

No sudden changes to send

the howl of Arctic blasts;

mild November dances in

with utter delight.

Lainie Senechal

Announcement: Poetry series with open mic  at Amesbury Public Library, Tuesday, Nov. 29th, featured reader is Maggie Dietz.  Lainie will host the event.

Fall Takes Another Step & Announcement

img-y01095351Autumn Wind

Fall Takes Another Step

Fall takes another step forward.

Blustery breezes leave branches empty –

all colorful leaves lost.

The trees do not miss them,

their thoughts curve away,
their productive season ends.

They will peacefully sleep

through claps of thunder snow

and winter’s wild winds.

Lainie Senechal

Announcement:   Lainie will exhibit her artwork in the 2016 Amesbury Open Studio Tour on Nov. 12th & Nov. 13th.  She will also hang 100 haiku along the tour route.

The Acorn & Announcement

Acorns

Acorns

The Acorn

A ping on picnic table,

a thump in humus,

a crack against granite outcrop,

a splash into fountains flow,

in autumn wind, leaves of oak

wave farewell to her children

who plummet down,

manna for inhabitants

of the forest below.

Squirrel scolds curious cat

for disturbing frenetic

gathering of bounty.

food for winter, freely

given, freely taken,

a pantry open to all.

I roam, unexpectedly,

the woods of childhood –

the place where

the great teacher dwells.

I beg for a sign of remembrance

to the devotee who loved so well.

On the path ahead lies a large acorn,

the sign of recognition,

passed secretly from healer

to healer in the Burning Times.

This tiny womb – a promise

and a gift for one who was

nurtured and is nurtured still.

Lainie Senechal

Announcement: Lainie hosts a poetry series at the Amesbury Public Library.  The next event is Wednesday, October 26th at 6 PM.  Alfred Nicol is the featured reader.

The Autumn Soul & Announcement

scan2-0001Moon, River and Whittier Bridge

The Autumn Soul

A slow shift of the sun

that fades incrementally from

Northern skies in a final

canopy of brilliant crimson.

No longer an early riser,

the day brightens gradually.

A few hot hours linger,

a melancholy for something

missed settles into

the autumn soul.

Lainie Senechal

Announcement:  Lainie will read her poetry at “The Arts and the Experience of Nature” event at the Joppa Flats Audubon Center. Newburyport, MA on Wednesday, October 19th at 7:30pm.

Salisbury Summer & Announcement

img-X01005929-0001Along the Shore

Salisbury Summer

Summer on Salisbury Beach,

a week at my Aunt’s cottage,

adults worked all day,

Two cousins and I left on our own.

At ten years old unfamiliar,

but desired, days of freedom.

Instructions: “You can go to

the beach but stay near lifeguards.”

Our unknowing babysitters,

who paid little attention,

more focused on bathing beauties,

applying sunscreen, on blankets nearby.

We rode waves so rough

they slammed us into the strand,

filled our bathing suits with sand.

We arose coughing and sputtering

from swallowed salt water

then raced through the surf

to catch another wild ride.

When bored, we walked

to jetty of large, black rocks,

leapt from boulder to boulder,

scraped hands and feet

on slippery, rough surfaces,

while sea pounded through

gaps in rock pile below.

In evening we would wander home,

fall asleep early with expectations

for another day that

would be fully ours.

Lainie Senechal

Published in Ibbetson Street #39, June 2016

Announcement: Lainie will read poetry at The Whittier Home and Tapestry of Voices  18th annual collaborative reading of the poetry of and inspired by John Greenleaf Whittier on Sunday, August 14 from 3-4:30 PM. The poetry reading will take place in the Victorian garden of the Whittier Home Museum, 86 Friend street, Amesbury, MA.

Tanabata – The One Night & Announcement

The Moon WaitsThe Moon Waits

The One Night

Stars shake shiny dust

on path to rendezvous

which rises from leafy glade,

passes nebula’s smoky gases

that echo tall thunderheads,

travels beyond the black holes,

crosses the Silver River

for their annual meeting,

their one night of bliss.

Lainie Senechal

Lainie will exhibit paintings and read her poetry at this event:

Tanabata – The Star Festival

A group exhibition from July 9 – July 31.
Works inspired from the ancient legend of Tanabata.

Opening reception: Saturday, July 9th from 7 pm to 9 pm.
Poetry Reading from 8 pm.
As a special treat there will be a performance of a new play by Debra Weiss entitled “Untitled”   at Kaji Aso Studio, Boston, MA.

Summer Solstice & Announcement

Strawberry MoonStrawberry Moon                

Summer Solstice, Lake Attitash

Summer solstice settles on lake,

a few casual clouds drift, almost

imperceptibly, across an azure dome.

Sun executes its tiptoe dance

on top of ripples sliding to shore.

A mother duck paddles by

with fresh hatchlings,

donning their fluffy down,

she clucks softly to remind

youngsters to stay close to clutch.

A dragonfly wings slowly along,

rests before the evening’s siege

that starts with waning light

and surge of mosquitos.

Some boaters settle on surface

in no hurry to go anywhere,

enjoying afternoon’s ambience.

Occasionally one exhibits an energy burst

and with a roar trails a white wake.

Fishermen drift slowly near shore,

cast lines while in quiet conversation.

Neighbor’s daughters return

to water for first swim –

a trio of Naiads enjoy

submersion into liquid velvet.

A breeze blows in from coast,

fans feathery fronds of Dawn Redwood

that shades porch from summer’s simmer

and where a cat snoozes away the season.

Summer returns carrying remembrances

of years along these shores

where days seem eternal

and the dream of summer never ends.

Lainie Senechal

Announcement:  Lainie will exhibit her paintings and read her poetry at an Art Show and Sale on Saturday and Sunday, June 25th and 26th from 10 AM – 3 PM at Amesbury City Hall as part of the Amesbury Days celebration.

Spring Arrives & Announcement

March WindMarch Wind

Spring Arrives

Clumps of crocus and daffodils,

wet with soft, spring rain,

rise above replenished soil.

Maples’ red buds shake

on ends of thin branches

that vibrate in steady breeze.

Winter’s quiet days rapidly end

with sudden burst of peepers’ song

from swamp which shimmers

in slowly dimming day.

Lainie Senechal

Lainie will participate in a reading of poems written for art in the Blue Wave Fine Art Gallery, Amesbury, MA.  The reception and reading is April 2, 6:30-8:30PM.