herbiehancock

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #51 - Snow Squall Click the play button above to hear me read this poem. Click the photos below to enlarge them and see more detail. Snow Squall Biting wind stirs the falling snow like an eggbeater stuck into a bowl of confectioner's sugar. Spinning it, twirling it, throwing off clouds of crystals, puffs of cold, white dust. Pulling powdery snakes in wavy lines across the road. Chasing snowflakes in dizzy tornadoes of white. Skipping across the frozen yard. Dusting the poodle, who ventured outside black-- but returned white. Yin and yang, yang and yin. The poodle creates a squall of his own in the living room as he shakes his fur and sends the snow on his back flying and spinning once again. Yang and yin, yin and yang. It catches you off guard to see that what once was black is white; what once was white is black. You become aware that there is much more gray around than you ever realized. Just as you have it all figured out, the wind howls and...

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #50 - Ringside Seat Click the play button above to listen to me read this poem. Ringside Seat From his desk where he worked, he had a free ticket and a ringside seat to the daily window circus that performed in the bird feeder outside. With great delight, he watched the birds who, like trapeze artists in bright flashy clothes, flew gracefully from the tree in the yard, swooping through the air, alighting gently on the perch of the feeder. At first he scowled when the squirrels arrived. Like clowns wearing gray fur suits with white underbellies, they climbed and jumped and bumbled about, twitching their tails, stealing seed from his birds and each other. He chased them away when he could. He rigged the feeder trying to block their path, but like clowns, they were smarter than they looked. Funny, furry acrobats with whiskers and shiny beady eyes, they flipped and flew. They scampered on wires, sliding here, pulling themselves there, clinging, cli...

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #49 - Soldiers In the Snow Push the play button above to hear me read this poem. Soldiers In the Snow Dried stalks of Autumn Joy Sedum stand at attention in the flower bed like soldiers in the snow. Wearing cold, white helmets, with stick guns at their sides, they are guarding tender shoots in the frozen ground below, keeping them safe from the war of winter. In the spring, new shoots, green but strong, will push up and join their ranks. Reinforcement troops are on the way.

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #48 - Morning Glory Skeletons Click the play button above to hear me read this poem. Morning Glory Skeletons Morning Glory skeletons hang from the black porch rails in the white snow. Seed pod skulls and thin vine bones cling to the bars of their winter prison. Next summer , they will find their colors and reach again for the sun, but for now, their heads droop and their vines shiver in the cold wind.

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #46 - Night Icicles Click the play button above to hear me read this poem. Night Icicles Night icicles hang at the ready like swords waiting for battle. Their smooth blades gleaming, as if highly polished. Their points sharpened, dripping silent drops of icy water. They sparkle in the light from above the nearby porch. Winter monsters, who threaten and intimidate by throwing fistfuls of angry snow and blowing cold blasts of air, are the ones who hung the night icicles there. Night icicles clink, clang, crash and clatter, crack, fall, splinter, and shatter with just one SMACK from the backside of a nearby snow shovel. Frozen bits and fragments of the broken swords sink into the snow drift below. And the wielder of the shovel laughs.

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #45 - Orchids Click the play button above to hear me read this poem. Orchids Delicate blooms, fragile alone yet strong united, they are like a host of angels with white wings and cupped faces glowing with the light of God. Each angel carries a small golden star shining for the hope of peace and the promise of days yet to come. Glorious wonder, wonderful glory! Sing hallelujah! Sing! The orchids float in the air above a single green stem. They are tethered by faith between earth and heaven, past and future, old and new. Glorious wonder, wonderful glory! Sing hallelujah! Sing! I wish for all of us a new year full of joy and peace. I hope the days ahead bring blessings too numerous to count. Don't forget to dance whenever you get the chance! Thank you my friends. I get a kick out of you! =)

Merry Christmas! Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #44 - A Christmas Message Click the play button below to hear this message.

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #42 - Winter Parking Lot Click the play button above to hear me read this poem. Winter Parking Lot Glazed with ice, then powdered with sugar snows, cars in the parking lot sit on the concrete, in neat rows as if they were fresh doughnuts, all on a tray in God's bakery window display.

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #40 - Yellow River Click the play button above to hear me read this poem. Yellow River Leaves rained down for days until the front yard was flooded drenched in color by a yellow river from the thunder cloud trees above With each gust of wind more leaves lapped at the edges of the flower beds and porch steps Frothy yellow waves billowed about Squirrels and little dogs first waded and then swam across it struggling not to drown not to be pulled under in the eddying swirls A rake parted the river like the raised rod of Moses channeling the leaves down to the street The curbs of the street, breaker walls, strain now to hold back the leaves The wind persists sending them back in yellow waves over the top over the top over the top of the too small concrete dam

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #37 - Concert From the Lily Pads Click the play button above to hear me read this poem. This poem was inspired by some beautiful photos of lily pads that I saw recently. Concert From the Lily Pads On warm summer evenings, backyard bullfrogs sit on their lily pad patios under jutting flower umbrellas in bright colors of purple and pink. They dine on moths, lightning bugs, and dragonflies, visit with their neighbors, and watch the pollywogs play a darting game of tag. As the sun goes down and twilight creeps in, the backyard bullfrogs tune up and settle in, croaking and crooning in rhythmic cadence. Crickets and katydids join in the chorus. They perform a concert of contentment in the spotlight of the moon. Angel fans gather in the concert hall skies and light the stars, holding them up high in appreciation of the music. A peaceful calm settles over the pond where the backyard bullfrogs sit and sing under flower umbrellas on their lily pad patios. * *...

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #36 - Little Children Know How To Dance Click the play button to hear me read this poem. Little Children Know How To Dance Little children know how to dance. They're not afraid to take a chance. They just get up and move, by the seat of their pants. There's no need for lessons or to know all the steps. They are not dancing to be noticed or to make others impressed. They're just filled with joy, moving to the beat. Dancing is just happiness overflowing through their feet. With a wiggle and a giggle and a hop and a jump, They'll dance till they're breathless doing the be-bop-de-bump . They have their own style. They have their own rhythm. They make you smile so much----like you're dancing there with them.