SHORT VERSE

by Leah C Dancel

29 April 2024

Created and Written in 

Marsden Place 

Orange 🍊 NSW 

Photo credit to National Geographic 

PITY THE NATION

Lifted from English Literature

Pity the nation whose people are sheep,

and whose shepherds mislead them.

Pity the nation whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced,

and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.

Pity the nation that raises not its voice,

except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero

and aims to rule the world with force and by torture.

Pity the nation that knows no other language but its own

and no other culture but its own.

Pity the nation whose breath is money

and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed.

Pity the nation — oh, pity the people who allow their rights to erode

and their freedoms to be washed away.

My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty.

~Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Book: Ferlinghetti's Greatest Poems

I AM

By Leah C Dancel

I AM

There can be no other

I'm only one Me:

One soul, one heart, one mind.

I may share attributes with others 

Whom I call soulmates 

Or twin from different mothers. 

I am unique 

Fitted with flaws and imperfections 

I walk the talk; at times I screwed adrift. 

I play down self-righteousness 

It's not in my blueprint's template 

I am just me, the who I am.

I am as you are:

A human, a person

A woman of substance. 

Molded and developed 

With humane persona 

I am both a giver and a taker.

I am

A woman:

A lady of will.

©️ Leah C Dancel 

Copyright ©️ 22 April 2024

All rights reserved 

THE COLOUR CITY

Central West - AUSTRALIA

THE LAST EMPIRE

Posted at PSCS

22 April 2024

THE LAST EMPIRE

She's the Rose of England
The land where kingdoms hailed
Kings and Queens that poets deified
In verses, hymns and proses scribed.

A queen destined to reign the land
At ten, her fate divinely designed
She took the vow in faithfulness declared
Short or long, the longest she ruled.

She severed empires to give in freedom
To sovereignties to lead their own
And kept those who are willing
To get under her vast dominions.

Today, most empires are gone
Consigned to history till they last fit
New leaves and pages are being quilled
Mostly by red blood of deceit and conceit.


©️ Leah C Dancel
Copyright ©️ 22 April 2024
All rights reserved
The City of Colours
Central West, NSW

PALINDROME: BINX

21 April 2024

Orange NSW 
 

Under the table 

Outside 

Bathing in the sun

Keeping warm.

After play 

His space 

Alone.

Leah C Dancel 

21 April 2024

APRIL HAIKU: SUNRISE

Written in Orange NSW

SUNRISE 

Glinting rays over 

The rooftop of sleeping hosts

Town awaken by.

Leah C Dancel 

#haiku 

21 April 2021

Colour City 

DAFFODILS by William Wordsworth

Lifted from ENGLISH LITERATURE

18 April 2024/FB

"DAFFODILS" 

(I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud)

By William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Analysis;

"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" (also commonly known as "Daffodils") is a poem by William Wordsworth that is known for its celebration of the beauty of nature and its ability to bring joy and happiness in times of despair. The poem is written in the first person, with the speaker describing their own personal experience of wandering through a field of daffodils.

The poem is divided into four stanzas, each of which describes a different aspect of the speaker's experience. The first stanza sets the scene and describes the speaker's feeling of loneliness as they wander through the countryside. The imagery of a cloud floating over hills and valleys evokes a sense of isolation and detachment, which contrasts with the vibrant and joyful scene that the speaker is about to encounter.

The second stanza describes the moment when the speaker comes across a field of daffodils. The imagery of the daffodils stretching in a "never-ending line" along the shoreline creates a sense of awe and wonder, and the comparison to the stars in the Milky Way emphasizes the vastness and beauty of the scene. The use of the word "host" to describe the daffodils also suggests that they are not just a random collection of flowers, but an organized and purposeful group.

The third stanza describes the speaker's emotional response to the scene. The use of words like "gay" and "jocund" suggest that the sight of the daffodils has brought the speaker a sense of happiness and pleasure. The phrase "I gazed—and gazed—but little thought / What wealth the show to me had brought" suggests that the speaker did not fully realize the impact the daffodils would have on them until after they had seen them.

The final stanza describes the lasting effect of the daffodils. The use of the phrase "And then my heart with pleasure fills / And dances with the daffodils" suggests that the sight of the daffodils has lifted the speaker's spirits and brought them a sense of joy and happiness.

The poem is also known for its use of imagery, particularly the image of the daffodils dancing in the breeze, which creates a sense of movement and liveliness that contrasts with the stillness and isolation of the opening lines. The poem also makes use of personification, as the daffodils are described as "dancing" and "tossing their heads" which imbues them with human-like characteristics and adds to the lively and joyful nature of the scene.

HAIKU 2024

Posted at ILA

17 April 2024

HAIKU POETRY DAY 

By Steve Lyman 

TRILOGY

#1
A summer rose buds 
Draw their last blooming saga
Petals wilt and die.

#
The leaves are falling
Trees stripping off their old barks
Twigs and limbs weakened.

#3
It's Fall,  but, Autumn
Down Under changing season
Cool nights, slumbering.

Leah C Dancel
17 April 2024

FLOWERS 

Though flowers may fail 

To win a heart, hard to win

Handle them with care.

Leah C Dancel 

17 April 2024

PSCS 

ROSES

Let thy love be known 

With roses that spark romance

To sweet lady fair.

Leah C Dancel

17 April 2024

PSCS 

Dedicated to Eve Sison

 

WHEN MORNING COMES

Poem by Lenore Caytiles

When Morning Comes

When morning comes, welcome it with a smile

No matter whether the clouds are white, black or gray

And the skies clear or not

Whether the day is sunny or gloomy

Just be thankful.

The morning is always beautiful for it is the beginning of a new day

A new day has come to give us hope

The pain we felt might be gone

Another chance to do better

and difficult tasks done.

Time to start a new beginning

Time to take a new road if the other way didn't turn out right

Time to view the world with the brightest hope

Leaving all the blues and the pains behind.

Tire not. 

Do not give up for this tomorrow might have the best for you.

April 15, 2024

Sunrise in Carmona. Cavite