Late Winter Lake
March Commences
As March’s month commences,
with a loud call from a cardinal
and lessening of winter winds,
one’s hopes jump quickly
into a new season – instead,
shocked by steady snow.
Spring seems far away
as winter’s weary trip continues.
No hurt comes from
weather’s constant vagrancies -
only a need for patience
and, in time, pleasant days
will again prevail.
Lainie Senechal
Amaryllis
Mid-February
The winds are cold –
near the fire
one feels warm.
Each night, twilight
settles more slowly.
Our thoughts turn
to the next season.
We search seed catalogs
for a summer treasure.
Winter winds may howl
with heavy storms,
but they no longer have
a hold on our hearts.
Lainie Senechal
White Pine
Pine Wind
Moonbeams enter windows
opened between bare branches.
Pine needles tremble
as compass points North
into wail of winter winds
from far Arctic snows.
Confusion of a warm autumn
settles in to a new rhythm
under faint and distant stars.
Lainie Senechal
Along the Muddy River
Shelter #8
Ice on the winter lake,
once frozen, has cracked.
Now it retreats and returns
with the rise and fall
of season’s fitful weather.
A full moon illuminates
the crests of wave,
recently released from capture.
Ripples scatter in the light,
like birds with flashy feathers,
freed from shelter of henhouse
to nervously search for sustenance
in the dark barnyard dirt.
Lainie Senechal
Announcement: Lainie will present art and poetry in “Shelter”, the Winter Art Festival at Kaji Aso Studio. Opening reception: Saturday, Jan.19, 7-9pm. Poetry reading and music at 8pm. Free and open to the public at 40 St Stephen St., Boston.
Red Pears
Not Under the Tree
We are all travelers
who wander in the wilderness,
who follow the dream star,
who look for sanctuary –
a place to be reborn.
The world spins madly,
with a multitude of distractions,
a path simply trod
would lead us to home.
Lainie Senechal
Announcement: My paintings are on display at Health Matters, 35 Main St., Amesbury, MA. Thank you to David and Sarah for displaying my work.
Misty Isle
Mist
A fine mist settles
over a lake that does
not stir from slumber –
a lazy, meditative moment.
Today’s deluge of rain
will nourish landscape,
fill rivers whose flow
will flood to rapids,
while the waning moon
lies hidden behind clouds.
For now, no storms to brave,
Only a slight breeze which
murmurs in the bare branches.
Lainie Senechal
Still Life with Ghost Pumpkin
White Ghost
Cold air shrieks in the branches.
A hole in the clouds reveals
the moon, a white ghost
in the dark sky who stays
silent as a stone – no boo
spills from this specter.
We shudder with each frigid blast
as leaves loosen in wild wind
and lawn fills with colorful array.
Lainie Senechal
Still Life with Asian Pears
Seeking Shelter
Stillness of an autumn dawn
disturbed by tap, tap, tap –
a woodpecker on a snag
that displays a few yellow leaves –
and the voices of birds
who have abandoned nests,
whose eggs have hatched.
A time of renewed searching
to stitch together shelter and sustenance
before arrival of wild, winter winds.
Lainie Senechal
Swamp Maples of Back River
Early October
Autumn makes its slow entrance,
vibration of brilliant red
finally settles on swamp maples
that line shore of Back River,
while oaks retain their drab green.
A solitary gull flies low
over sun-sparkled lake
as October’s golden light
illuminates purple clouds.
Soon bulbs will be buried,
before the first freeze,
our hope for an early spring.
Lainie Senechal
Bennings Green Tint
Autumn’s Beginning
A ball is drawn down the path
towards another season,
stream of time trickles forward -
a pull to autumn’s beginning.
The track is not smooth
but seems to double back
as summer still lingers.
Leaves begin to fall,
while the August fly continues
to hum its raspy tune.*
Lainie Senechal
* August fly is another name for a cicada.