seasons – Page 2 – Hues of Hankinson

New Year rises

It was a turbulent week just like the weather. We saw the wolf moon shining bright in the New Year sky and it brought tidal wrath to the coastline. There were forecast to be High tides and they arrived at the same time as storm Eleanor. Around Cumbria and the Furness peninsula storm surge brought debris and made some of the roads impassable.

As we return to work and tried to re-establish the pre-Christmas normalcy in patterns of life and leisure we know with certainty that we are walking forwards into a turbulent future likely to match the week and mayhem of the wonderful wolf moon. Two supermoons this month, I wonder what the next one will bring.

High tide storm rising

Whispers of windswept dreams fly

New Year, wolf moon chides.

©Alison Jean Hankinson

This is for d’Verse haibun monday.

Whilst I am here this is the wonderful d’Verse anthology that has recently been published and is available to purchase on Amazon.

Chiaroscuro – Darkness and Light, dVerse Anthology, 2017.

This is a collaborative project between the dVerse poets and dVerse team. Over 100 poets from around the world contributed to this anthology. We selected not only the best poems but also those poems that take the reader through a journey from the darkest places to the brightest. From the deepest sorrow into happiness and love. From the darkest streets to woods in spring. Come enjoy our journey.

Now available at Amazon North America and Amazon Europe.

Ode to the town hall clock.

The town hall clock, hands of time

Counting the minutes, measuring the moments

Of our paltry lives.

We don’t look up enough

Sometimes we don’t see beyond our own story

Yet still the hands move round.

That same clock struck 11, sixteen years ago.

Same minute, same location, same season.

The leaves fell to the ground in remembrance.

Synchronicity in those hands

You were so small then in your red coat.

Time stood still for that one moment.

I captured your essence in early digital perfection.

The father, the child, the moment

Beneath the town hall clock, the hands that never stop.

©Alison Jean Hankinson

This is for d’Verse. It is my ode to the town hall clock which seems visible from just about everywhere in Lancaster. The theme and timing is appropriate as it will be Remembrance weekend. The feature image was taken after the service in 2001 where ironically my husband was in the remembrance parade before he became a veteran of war.

Shades of 50.

It is done, my fiftieth birthday year finally gone

Kicked the ass out of that, had a bit of fun

Moved house and home,

And now it is done.

Heartaches and happiness all in one.

What a year, glad to move on to 51.

this is a bit cheesy but all I could muster for this week’s Quadrille at d’Verse. I celebrated my fiftieth birthday in hospital and it has been a roller-coaster of a year and I think some of the biggest dips were in the last week, so I was a bit quiet….So tomorrow I start a new day, and a new year… and I will be 51.

I miss my Ellen though and would love to have her home with me. XXXX

The Eve of Samhain.

I am crone, blackened, old bones creaking, hear me cackle,

Worldy wise, decrepit and dried-out hag

At Samhain Eve, edge of darkness.

Bring back to me immortality and the light of life.

I am curdling cauldron, spewing orange bile, seething vileness

Cosmic container, holy grail to the gods

I welcome Samhain, edge of darkness

As the sun sets, I descend into darkness, and my transformation begins.

Reborn, I am acorn, I am apple- five pointed star, pentagram

Wise woman, sentinel of soulful strength.

I rejoice at Samhain, beyond the edge of darkness

As day breaks I brush away fear with my birch besom.

It is a new day, new year, a new life.

©Alison Jean Hankinson

This is for d’Verse where the theme was monsters….I haven’t really got anything in me on monsters….so this is a tale from a witch.

I am away from home, I went out in the dark to collect some acorns for my photo, but the internet is a little weak here and they won’t load….so call back later and they might be here. I saw a tiny little mouse whilst I was out but hadn’t got my camera with me.

Acorns were seen as an amulet…it is seen as strong and protective, they only appear on mature trees and they are a symbol of perseverance and fertility.

Magic

All the house was silent

Night-light burning on the mantelpiece

Off to sleep.

Spring came

Long days in the garden

Rides in the wheelbarrow.

Long June evenings

The bracken swayed gently

The sun sank lower.

Thicket of raspberry canes growing tall

Tropical jungle in long sunlit hours

Fairy huts in the flowerbed.

Quiet evenings in the wood

A tear fell to the ground

And a flower grew.

A mysterious flower

Slender green leaves the colour of emeralds

Blossom like a golden cup.

The moon had risen

The forest was beautiful, fronds like frosted silver

Tree-trunks wild danced with their shadows.

Velvet grass dancing, the fairy kissed him

Springing jumping whirling

He was real at last.

Alison Jean Hankinson.

This is for d”verse MTB.

I ought to add this is a form called erasure or blackout.

The text was too large to put the whole as a picture….see if you can spot where it came from….The other image might help a tiny bit….it is Emily’s…shh….

Haunted House.

Creaky floors and creaky doors

The haunted house hears me

Creeping along the staircase

Hoping the ghostly ghouls won’t see.

Suddenly the silence shatters

Nerves are torn in tiny tatters

A deathly scream is all that matters

I think it is time to flee.

For d’Verse.….. where creak was the prompt, I had already written two quadrilles today but neither of them fitted the prompt….so this was the result.

Image available in public domain House Cemetry-haunted house- By darksouls1 [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Remember remember the fifth of November…..

Goblins ghosts and ghoulies

Pumpkins at the door

Bobbing apples in a tub

Kids come back for more.

Cauldrons cooking winter soup

Penny for the Guy

Bonfire night and fireworks

Brighten up the night-time sky.

Image in public domain. The conspirators.

There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance.

Ophelia

Heading for our shore

Storm force winds

Drenching rain

Surge alerts for Coastal towns

Fear ferocious winds.

This is for Real toads- Shadorma. Shadorma is a popular Spanish form of poetry using a 353375 format.

Ophelia is headed our way and will arrive 30 years to the day of the violent storm we experienced in 1987.

A fridge too far….

Lashings of blueberry conserve

Rain lashing on the window pane.

Luscious sumptuous late summer fruits

Raspberries fresh from the cane.

Limes lingering for mocktails

Sauvignon blanc chilling on ice.

Swede broccoli and carrot

For roast lamb supper tonight.

Leftovers for lunchtime tomorrow

No fresh salad but mushrooms galore,

As the weather signals the move to autumn

It is Hot Chocolate with whipped cream we adore.

This is for d’Verse poetics where we were encouraged to consider the contents of our fridge….it took a while and was almost a fridge too far….hence the title….

The rain did lash the window panes today, the River Lune was very fast flowing with what looked like whole trees heading out to sea….crumpet weather…I did stop and have a Hot Chocolate on the way home from the University.

Driving through Dallam Estate.

It was a beautiful start to October, a little bit of chill in the early morning air and some dew on the grass. In the garden across the road there is an array of spider webs, which glisten in the dew. I haven’t dared to photograph them as I don’t want to disturb the neighbours and having me trample through their garden with my trusty camera might indeed be disturbing.

We spent some time at Heversham visiting family and came back through Dallam Park, it is beautiful at this time of year, with the trees turning and that warm soft afternoon sun. The Deer were quite low down and there were pheasants in abundance. I know that some people find them frustrating as they can damage garden beds, but I love to see them in all their splendour foraging in the shrubbery and grass for spiders and seeds.

Fall’s frail web of lace

Reminiscent of first frost

Pheasants chase spiders.

Haibun for d’Verse.

The spider web image was available to use in the public domain from pixabay, the other photographs were taken yesterday driving through Dallam Park.