‘Into the Ordinary’

Several years ago I gathered my courage and showed a selection of my poetry to a local ‘Writer in Residence’. The most powerful message he gave me was to continue writing with my ‘ordinary words’, as I called them. Since then I have been on a journey to continue writing using ordinary words, which come from the heart.

Just Because

Green saturates

every sense

~ a miracle

in chlorophyll ~

suddenly here

.

Leaves appear

in glorious iterations

emerald bursts

topped with

delicate petals

.

Ferns folded

within folds

unravel with

geometric grace

to the tick of

dandelion clocks

.

River races on

without sleep

washing new life

to the ocean

snow-chilled

and urgent

.

And the birds

oh the birds

they sing

every daylight hour

staking claims

making love

guarding home

just because

.

By Carys Owen

Loosely related to the theme of nature,

my hymn to the late arrival of spring.

Without

.

You are the one

without a voice

without a pen

without a friend

.

You are the one

without daylight

without a square meal

without peace

.

We strain to hear

your words

spoken in hushed tones

chasing freedom

.

We strain to hear

your name

so we may speak it

and bring you home

.

By Carys Owen

This poem was written on the theme of ‘Uncaging the Poet’

Mindful of the many people who are imprisoned for speaking

their truth, I imagined the ones who receive no attention or

publicity . Thanks to Amnesty International and PEN who

work tirelessly to bring these writers, thinkers, loved-ones

home.

Octopus

.

Octopus pulls in treasures

from the ocean floor

shells, carapaces, coral

all to adorn her

patchwork façade

her undersea blanket fort

built from the inside out

designed to confound

the hunter and befuddle

the love rival

she hunkers down

like 27 Roman legionaries

in testudo formation

shields locked to

protect soft parts

sliding the last plate in place

she spies through a tiny gap

pinpointing her moment

to escape

.

By Carys Owen

Inspired by the poetry prompt ‘animal architecture’

and this amazing creature

.

Welcome

Welcome to old friends

cedar, spruce, hemlock, fir

.

Welcome to our families

deer, otters, marmots, geese

.

Welcome to stealthy hunters

cougars, wolves, sea-lions, martens

.

Welcome to the fisher-folk

herons, scoters, cormorants, grebes

.

Welcome to the inter-tidal clan

sun stars, oysters, anemones, crabs

.

Welcome to the deep sea divers

halibut, kelp, octopus, seals

.

Welcome to the night-time crew

barred owls, bats, mice, raccoons

.

Welcome to the pond dwellers

tadpoles, salamanders, dragonflies, toads

.

Welcome to the budding plants

sword fern, skunk cabbage, fiddleheads, lilies

.

Welcome to the forest lovers

woodpeckers, squirrels, lichen, moss

.

Welcome to the ocean schools

dolphins, humpbacks, herring, eels

.

Welcome to the gift-givers

thimbleberry, salmonberry, hazelnut, salal

.

Welcome to the pollinators

wasps, bees, hummingbirds and humble flies

.

Welcome to the tireless gardeners

earthworms, snails, robins, moles

.

Welcome to the microscopic wonders

bacteria, plankton, microbes, nematodes

.

Welcome to the earth enrichers

leaf litter, fungus, beetles, humus

.

Welcome to the engineers

ravens, beavers, spiders, ants

.

Welcome to the balladeers

loons, tree frogs, chickadees

.

Welcome to the councillors

seagulls, crows, Pacific waves

.

Welcome to the new arrivals

fawns, chicks, cubs, kits

.

Welcome to the ancient ones

mountains, forests, ocean, rivers

.

Welcome to our wild, wise elders

salmon, eagle, orca, bear

.

Welcome to the human ones

with respect and gratitude to First Nations

.

Welcome to the longer days

and shorter nights

.

Welcome to the warming sun

and sustaining rain

.

Welcome to a dawning season

where you can choose

to begin again

.

WELCOME TO

A WILD  NEW  LIFE

.

By Carys Owen

.

Written for @wildwisesociety in honour of their

‘Wild New Life’ event on April 30th

at Willow Point Hall, Campbell River.

Everyone is welcome!

.

Love

The hollow in

the bed she made

is filled with love

.

the silence where her

dog tags rang

is filled with love

.

the stillness where she

gazed and explored

is filled with love

.

the void once awash

with sighs and snores

is filled with love

.

the place in my arms

where she melted in

is filled with love

.

the empty beach where

she skipped and wove

is filled with love

.

the gentle waves that

bathed her toes

all filled with love

.

the big sky and the

mountain view

love, love, love

.

By Carys Owen

Rest well dear friend

Kenzie 2009-2023

The nature of my animal,

Kenzie, is love, love, love

and a lot of cheekiness!

xxxx

Weeds

I left town years ago

and moved to the woods

with a forest

for a back yard

~ trilliums in spring

mushrooms in fall ~

.

a grassy clearing

perfect for daisies

bordered by fiddleheads

tended by deer

.

maple saplings shoot up

fresh and green

grand fur stretch overhead

moss carpets the shade

and just beyond

.

are skunk cabbage, huckleberry

salmonberry, sword fern

fawn lilies, ocean spray

Oregon grape, vanilla leaf

licorice fern, lupins

columbines, dandelions

cedar, oak and hemlock

.

I asked around

and they all agreed-

none of them

are weeds

.

By Carys Owen

Written for the dVerse Poetry prompt of ‘Weeds’

Islands

I live in two worlds

separated by vast waters

~ half a lifetime in each ~

my heart shared

between

touchstones

.

Here on an island

wild and rugged

where I walk the beach

daily and traverse

forests to reach

home

.

There on an island

with my daughter

~ a windswept beach

and a bus ride home

to Zoom with my son

her brother

.

Our orbits

sometimes align

but mostly I am resigned

to drift happily between

two worlds

oceans apart

.

By Carys Owen

Written for a prompt about place and space by d’Verse Poetics

Some-thing

It’s not in the history

nor is it in the yet to come

it’s not in it’s melody

nor in the shape it holds

.

This friendship

is a rare and wondrous thing

that sits right here

in the breaths

we take

and listens

whole-heartedly

.

By Carys Owen

.

This quadrille about friendship was written to include a line from a blogger friend’s poem…it ended up being inspired by his whole poem! Thanks Bjorn Rudberg !

Any dVerse poets who wish to use a line from one of my poems are welcome to do so, please credit me and link back to my poem- cheers!

Kiss

This kiss has travelled miles

kept safe in a pocket

wrapped in silk

it has journeyed oceans

and rocky trails

burning a hole

through days

impatient to be planted

on my lover’s lips

.

this kiss

 .

and

.

this kiss

.

and

.

this

.

kiss

.

By Carys Owen

.

A ‘golden oldie’ from my book ‘Into the Ordinary’ for

Equal

She sits on my feet

these days

needful of touch

no words

just love

.

We equal each other

breathing together

sharing a pulse

best friends

for a lifetime

.

Hard to imagine

another way

as we amble

through days

hearts like diamonds

.

By Carys Owen