After the Storm
Monadnock’s mountaintop
wears a blanket of white,
while the river’s swift flow
conquers the cold.
Its dark water divides
a land now graced
with an ivory cloak.
Limbs coated with snow
bow low to the earth.
In the depths of winter,
from a series of storms,
the forest is transformed.
Lainie Senechal
Luca’s Gift
Outlook
In the exhilaration
of a fresh beginning
we wish for a New Year
that rises like a phoenix –
fiery, bright and strong.
The chasm of time
stretches wide before us,
too much distance to leap,
but each day builds
a slow bridge to the other side.
The ashes of the old year
are swept completely away.
Hopes and expectations
swirl in our thoughts
and mingle with anxiety
for what may lie ahead.
Lainie Senechal
Apple Blossom Amaryllis
New Year’s Beauty
Only the dregs of snow
remain in the deep woods.
Winter has slowed into
milder moments that
feel like spring.
The Contooocock flows
soundlessly against its
stiff, frozen banks.
The swift current is sleek
and dark like ebony silk.
Every New Year is unique –
each beginning brings
its own style of beauty.
Lainie Senechal
The Gift
Birthday Haiku
The still, gray river
awaits the first flakes
crows call from a tree.
Lainie Senechal
Thank you to everyone who send such lovely birthday wishes. Your kindness made the day more special for me.
November Along the Contoocook
Passage
At dusk an aura surrounds the moon –
night’s reverie is stirred when
the first snow storm appears
with large flakes falling like
feathers shaken from the heavens.
They evaporate in a warming dawn.
Although the day is mild,
bare branches and white patches
scattered in the deep woods
inspire an undercurrent of feeling
that the season is not steady
and a change will soon arrive.
Lainie Senechal
Moonlight Over the Delta
A Tribute to Indigenous Artist Shane Pickett
Autumn Transition
The moon, once masked by leaves,
now shines in silver through
the stark branches of the forest
and shimmers in the river’s swift flow.
At dawn fog obscures the horizon
shifting objects into strange shapes.
The warm autumn afternoon is a bridge
between summer’s sultry heat
and the coming winter’s chilly winds.
Lainie Senechal
Announcement: Lainie will have art and poetry in this event – KAJI ASO STUDIO
49th Anniversary Celebration
A SPOT OF BEAUTY
Art, Music & Poetry IN-PERSON: Saturday, Nov. 12th at 7:00pm to 8:30pm
at Kaji Aso Studio, 40 Saint Stephen Street, Boston and ONLINE: Sunday, Nov. 13th at 7:00pm
Contoocook – Late October
Late October
The colorful drama of autumn’s
brilliant leaves is fading fast.
Summer’s bounty slowly slips away –
to drift slowly and silently to earth
or to be caught in a breeze and flutter
like a flock of busy butterflies.
Spaces now open where the sun’s glare
glints off the Contoocook’s swift waters
and on cold mornings one sees
smoke rising above chimneys
from fires stoked during the night.
Lainie Senechal
Autumn Wind
Autumn Wind
The thunder storm slowly exits,
while the wind sweeps the sky to leave
only ragged remnants of clouds
and a rustling, like hushed music,
in leaves that are turning color
on trees that line the river’s edge.
The branches glow even more brightly
in the dim light of an ebbing autumn day.
Lainie Senechal
Jewelweed at Edge of Forest
Jewelweed
The jewelweed blossoms shine,
bright as summer’s petunias,
next to fronds of goldenrod,
to be followed by a wave
of color that travels along
the trees near the river.
Soon, the breeze’s cool breath
and a crescent moon will
appear to announce
the arrival of autumn.
Lainie Senechal
Along the Contoocook #3
The sun unlocks and scatters
a cover of dark clouds
that seem to portent rain,
as a cluster of ducks
paddle slowly up the river
in this sultry season.
After the parting, a time
of missing you lessens
when the late afternoon sun
illuminates the forest trees
and soft winds ruffle the leaves
that shimmer in the fading light.
The memory of love overtaken
by the brilliant beauty of the day.
Lainie Senechal
The Year of the Rabbit