Hello to All who are gathered here today in the dVerse Universe, a site of pubtalk and poetry. This Monday is where You and Your Muse are prompted to write a Quadrille. The name for the quadrille form is taken from an 18th Century dance, but as you may know, is also dVerse’ poetic form of just 44 words (not counting the title) and includes one word the host provides to you. Today it’s me, Lisa, also ready to serve drinks and snacks from the magic cupboard.
As I look out back, grey of pear tree twigs, washed-out brown standing stalks, and bright white covering the ground greets my view. Not a sign of warmth in sight. The cats are curled in tight donuts and my jeans feel too thin in the chill of the house. Once in awhile a male cardinal will flit by, bringing a passing flame of heat (for my eyes at least!)
As we in the Northern hemisphere are crunching into winter, those in the Southern hemisphere are crunching out of it and into summer. In either case, the nights are cool at most. How many of us would love to be huddled by a blazing fire and sipping hot cocoa? This scene is a perfect lead in to today’s prompt word: warm.
Frank Ormsby writes of warmth as in being alive in Mrs. G. Watters:
The letters still come for Mrs Watters,
who must, at one time, have warmed this house
and lived as we do. Mostly small matters —
the rolled calendar that, had she stayed,
might hang now where I drew the rusted nail,
the catalogues, the last gas bill unpaid —
and always Mrs Watters. So for me
the spirit of the house is feminine,
its whisper of the one who, constantly,
draws letters that assume she has never gone.
On which I weekly write, without conviction:
‘No longer living here. Address unknown.’
Victorian London homeless children by Gustave Dore
Kathy Engel yearns for an ideal of warmth for others in Now I Pray:
Ashen face, wool hat bobbing,
the young boy’s eyes dart to me,
then up at the man pulling a rolling
suitcase, whose hand he holds,
then back at me. His legs move
as if without gravity. The man asks:
Do you know a church on this street
that serves free food? I want to say
I know. That the names of churches
on an Avenue called Americas roll
out of me. I want to tell you
it is temporary, their condition:
suitcase, darting eyes, seeking free
food at 9 pm in a big city on a school night.
I want to tell you I don’t for a moment
wonder if that is really the boy’s father
or uncle or legitimate caretaker —
something in the handholding and
eyes, having watched too many
episodes of Law and Order. I want
to tell you I take them to a restaurant
and pay for a warm meal or empty
my wallet not worrying how
offensive that might be because
in the end hunger is hunger.
I want to tell you I call someone
who loves them — that there is someone —
and say your guys are lost, can
you come? I want to tell you I sit
down on the sidewalk at the corner
of Waverly and pray — that all
passing by, anonymous shoes
marking the pavement, join
in a chorus of prayer humming
like cicadas in the Delta. I want to
tell you the boy and the man eat food
encircled by the warmth of bodies.
I want to turn the cold night into a feast.
I will tell you I am praying.
Warm can be temperature, mood, portal, or season as seen in Donal Heffernan‘s My Hometown:
Oh, Homer!
Your village sleeps near the Missouri River
With your cousin Winnebago, both children of Lakotaland.
You kept your town at two stories, as flat as the surrounding prairie.
You taught the Iliad and Odyssey in honor of your namesake poet.
Your spirit outlasted the bleached fields of the Depression, and
Bravely swam against the raging Omaha Creek floods.
On warm, wet spring Saturday nights,
You provided dark places for your young
To launch your next generation
In pickups, unlighted.
When we seek to take the edge off of the chill, one antidote that I stumbled across fits the bill. Here is a small excerpt from this magical poem on BEADS, by Ama Ata Aidoo, called Ghana (Where the Bead Speaks) :
[…]
Beads can lift the heaviest heart.
And like tea and precious brews,
beads can warm us when we are cold,
and cool us when we are hot.
[…]
Once again, we have come to the place where you put your proverbial pen to paper and warm it with your poetic spirit’s will in words.
• Pen us a poem of precisely 44 words (not counting the title), including some form of the word warm.
• Post your Quadrille piece on your blog and link back to this post.
• Place the link to your actual post (not your blog url) on the Mister Linky page.
• Don’t forget to check the little box to accept use/privacy policy.
• Please visit other blogs and comment on their posts!
• Have fun (only if you want to!)
msjadeli said:
Greetings to All! The bar is open. What can I get you?
lesleyscoble said:
Mine’s a pint 🍺😁
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Lesley! One pint coming up. Cheers!
lesleyscoble said:
Ooo thanks! 😁 Your health 🍻
lesleyscoble said:
Keep it cool for me 🍺
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Hello… nice to be here… I think something warm would be great, maybe a classic toddy
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Bjorn. How about hot honeyed bourbon with a citrus mixer? (not a toddy expert)
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Ha… that sounds great.
msjadeli said:
I poured two, one for you and one for me. Cheers!
kim881 said:
Good evening all and thank you, Lisa, for the warm welcome and a prompt to cuddle up to on a cold evening. As Christmas is almost upon us, I think mulled wine is appropriate, but only a small one please. :0
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Kim, and my pleasure. One small wine glass of mulled wine for you. Cheers!
kim881 said:
Cheers!
rothpoetry said:
Hi Lisa, thanks for hosting and for a great prompt with many warm possibilities. I wil have a hot chocolate with marshmallows!
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Dwight! My pleasure on hosting and glad you like the prompt. One tall mug of hot cocoa with marshmallows coming right up. Cheers!
rothpoetry said:
Wonderful!
rogblog666 said:
hi lisa
hi poets
finally got here
got distracted by some great reads
after linking mine to mr linky
hot choc please
thanks rog
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Rog! One tall mug of hot choc coming right up. Cheers!
rogblog666 said:
Cheers
lillian said:
Thank you for hosting, Lisa. Still working on my poem….warm imaginative juices flowing too robustly so need to rein them in to 44 words! I was ready to join Kim with a mulled wine and then saw Bjorn’s hot chocolate request. I’ll go with the hot chocolate, please!
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Lillian! Glad you could make it. My pleasure on hosting. I think Bjorn asked for a toddy, but Dwight and Rog are your kindred spirits in hot choc. One tall mug of hot chocolate for you. I’ll put marshmallows on the side, just in case 🙂 Cheers!
Gillena Cox said:
Warm Wishes dear dVersians
much💜love
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Gillena!
msjadeli said:
p.s. Gillena, just wanted to let you know I tried to leave a comment twice on your poem and comment area isn’t working like it usually does and the comments disappeared.
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lynn__ said:
The poems and conversation at the pub are heart-warming tonight…thanks for hosting, Lisa! I’ll take some hot apple cider, please.
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Lynn! I’m loving the warm fuzzies too. One mug of hot apple cider coming right up. Cheers!
Christine Bolton, Poetry for Healing said:
Brrrrrrr! I need a hot toddy after your weather report Lisa 🥶
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Christine! One tall hot toddy coming right up to take that chill off. Cheers!
Christine Bolton, Poetry for Healing said:
Bottoms up! LOL 🙃
Ali Grimshaw said:
Lisa, hot apple cider for me. Thanks for hosting and the prompt. No snow here but it is definitely chilly. I am thankful to have a heated home. I feel for the many who do not. May our poems inspire warm compassion.
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Ali! My pleasure on hosting and the prompt. I understand that inflation has made heating one’s home unaffordable for many. It’s a disheartening thought that even the basics can’t be afforded. One tall hot apple cider coming right up. Cheers ❤
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Rob Kistner said:
Thank you for hosting Lisa. Great prompt my friend — so good, I wrote three. 👍🏼🙂✌🏼🕊❤️
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Dear Rob. I just finished basking in the warmth of your trifecta of tender-heartedness. Thank you for the bounty of verse ❤
Helen said:
A great challenge .. you shared so much wonderful warm themed poetry. WOW! Open bar? Well I will have eggnog with brandy and a sprinkle of nutmeg, please. Cheers!!
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Helen! Glad you enjoyed the poetic warmth. I finished the toddy I shared with Bjorn awhile ago. That eggnog with brandy and a sprinkle of nutmeg sounds so tasty I will join you. Cheers!
paeansunplugged said:
Good morning from here. The lure of warm bed was too hard to resist and I was fast asleep when your post came up, Li. A nice hot cup of tea for me, please.
msjadeli said:
Good morning and Welcome, Punam. Hope you had a pleasant sleep. One cup of nice hot tea coming right up. Cheers ❤
paeansunplugged said:
Thanks so much, Li. I did have a pleasant sleep, thank you. Loved the poems you have shared. ❤️
msjadeli said:
You’re very welcome and pleased you enjoyed the poems ❤
paeansunplugged said:
❤️
msjadeli said:
Notice to blogger poets: I’ve come across 3 or 4 poems so far where I am unable to leave comments, and since no comments are there from others, I think somethings up with the blogger website. Hoping it gets fixed. Will try to comment again tomorrow.
lifelessons said:
I love the first two poems you use as examples..Thanks so much for sharing them.
msjadeli said:
My pleasure, Judy. Happy they resonated with you.
msjadeli said:
P.S. Welcome!
M Jay Dixit said:
Hello, Lisa, thank you for hosting. I’ve finished my poem. Now I’m off to read what others have written! The prompt was very good, full of possibilities.
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Jay! I’m about to visit the poetry trail to see what you’ve written. Happy you liked the possibilities you saw there.
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sarahsouthwest said:
Lovely prompt! You shared some great poems here, ones I haven’t met before.
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Sarah! Thank you. Delighted to make the introductions ❤
Laura Bloomsbury said:
Got so warm and cosy last night I forgot to link up – love the Watters poem
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Laura! Yes, I love that one also and keep going back to it.
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kenhume31 said:
Hey msjadeli et all, just added my contribution to the prompt over at Mr. Linky. Hope ye enjoy the read! 🤞🙏😁😊
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Ken! Thanks for the heads-up on the linking. Heading out to the trail in a few to see what you wrote 🙂
kenhume31 said:
Thanks very much Jade! 😊🙏😁
msjadeli said:
You’re welcome!
pvcann said:
Ah Lisa, a whiskey (or two) to sit with the beautiful poetry you have chosen, and not least The Mac (My torch is for Stevie).
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Paul! I had a couple of drinks yesterday, but today is a new day 🙂 Pouring us two whiskeys. Stevie is torch-worthy for sure. Ms. McVie ain’t no slouch neither 😉 Cheers!
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poetisatinta said:
Hi, here’s a bit of warmth from a dragon 🙂 the poems over on Mr Linky 🙂
msjadeli said:
Welcome, AJ! Ooh, dragon, you say!? Looking forward to soaring with your poem.
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memadtwo said:
My thoughts turned dark for this…(K)
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Kerfe! With every light comes the dark. Stepping quietly to the trail so as not to scare it away ❤
~just a thought said:
“Dream Objectively”, a quadrille for your prompt. Thank you for hosting 💙
~just a thought said:
Readers may see an extra entry for me (LifePoetic) which was an accidental entry (an older one) in Mr. Linky (incorrect hashtag, topic for this prompt). Apologies for any confusion.
msjadeli said:
No worries. I will delete the accidental entry. Just read your “purposeful” entry and made comment there.
~just a thought said:
I’m happy you can do that, thank you for your attention to this.
Now I’ll enjoy reading everyone’s entries . . .
msjadeli said:
🙂
msjadeli said:
Welcome to the Poet’s Pub, ~just a thought!
~just a thought said:
Such a lovely place!
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Linda Lee Lyberg said:
Hi Lisa- Sorry for the late response. Thank you so much for hosting. Feeling under the weather, so perhaps a hot toddy to ease my cough.
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Linda! I saw your poem on fb and apologize for missing it. One hot toddy with extra honey to soothe your throat coming right up. Cheers and hope you feel better soon. Have you tried eucalyptus essential oil in a diffuser?
Linda Lee Lyberg said:
No apology necessary. 😊I have not tried that, but I am taking zinc and elderberry. I can’t take most cold medicines as it makes my blood pressure spike. 😊
kittysverses said:
Thank you for hosting, Li. Though late, I enjoyed the prompt and the poems you’ve shared. 🙂
msjadeli said:
Welcome, Kitty! Will head over to the poetry trail right now to read what you wrote. Glad you enjoyed the prompt and the included poems.
kittysverses said:
🙂