Category Archives: Painting with poetry

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.

A Slight Storm

img-y01095215Storm Approaches Moody Beach #1

A Slight Storm

First snow sifts silently

through still air,

not a blizzard but

a quick coating that

lays a soft blanket

over brown leaves,

while pellets of sleet

sting cold cheeks.

Near shore a white smudge
lies above the tide line,

where gulls search

sand for sustenance,

beside a sea that

barely rises in slight storm.

Lainie Senechal

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.

The Hummingbird in Whittier’s Garden

img-x13053533-0001The Hummingbird

The Hummingbird in Whittier’s Garden

Ruby-throated hummingbird

appears suddenly among

bright ruby-colored blossoms

in Whittier’s August garden

during annual reading -

darts swiftly from flowerlet

to flowerlet, thrusts its bill

down each tiny tube.

Listeners become observers,

words float unheard

into warm summer air.

Focus now on blurred wings

of tiny visitor, intent on

gathering sustenance, who takes

no notice of silent admirers and

disappears suddenly to seek

nectar from other flowers,

for poetry provides no purpose

in its petite world.

Lainie Senechal

Love Never Says, “This is the Last”

LillieDaylilies

I find your face

in sepia photographs

of our first encounter;

your visage lifts my heart

like the great fluttering

of a thousand doves.

How I protest this separation.

I search for a glimpse

but the window’s glass plate

has darkened by eternal decree.

Love, however, cannot be contained,

love follows no commands –

the joy of the heart overflows

into a never-ending stream

that forever connects our lives.

“Love never says, ‘This is the last’ “.

Lainie Senechal

I read this poem at my brother Ray’s funeral.  He passed away suddenly on August 17.  He was 57 years old.  The last line is a quote from the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh.