My Poetry

“Shadow Play,” Double #Cinquain

This week for my weekly poetry challenge I wanted to write a Double Cinquain. I used the word, daybreak for light, and shadows for dark.

I promised Jane Dougherty some photos of the desert and the surrounding area. As you will see, building in this area has accelerated, limiting my view of the desert. I used to be able to walk to the edge of the desert.

The first image to the lower left is the front of my house. The next image to the right is my Faery Tree representing the Celtic Tree of Life and the Great Glyph of the Sidhe. This tree is a black trunked Mesquite and native to the area. The rest of the trees in my back garden are Palo Verde (thornless) also native to the area. I’ve brought in as many natural elements as I could to please the land spirits and the good neighbors.

The spiral around the tree represents the Great Glyph of the Sidhe, which is great for connecting to the land and beings of Faery. The labyrinthian spiral provides a simple method for communicating and visiting the land of Faery. The glyph can work both ways, opening the way for beings to also visit you. This spiral was a must have for my pagan garden. Read more here.

The last two photos are from today’s morning walk. I love the way the light and dark of the shadows shimmer in the desert heat. The last photo is looking off into the distance from higher ground in my housing area. You can see the White Tank Mountains along the horizon.

That light-play of shadows inspired my double Cinquain below.

Shadow Play

Daybreak—
shadows holdfast
to the gathering light
clinging to the semi-darkness
waiting
searching—
for protection
from the heat of the day
hiding until the gloaming light
returns.

© 2019 Colleen M. Chesebro

It’s 113 F. today! Stay hydrated! ❤

75 thoughts on ““Shadow Play,” Double #Cinquain”

  3. Loved your poem Colleen and your lovely photos of your special tree.. Progression and expansion often means our views are being restricted.. And I enlarged each photo, loved the spiral in the gravel.. 🙂

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    1. Thanks so much, Sue. We are at the far western edge of Phoenix and literally out in the middle of nowhere. LOL! I’ll share more photos of the road we drive to get to our housing area. Expansion is everywhere it seems. I do feel a connection to the land here. It’s quite lovely. ❤

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  4. Thanks for sharing your part of the world, Colleen. The desert is so different from NJ. We’ve had some hot days, but also lots of rain, so it’s pretty lush and green here.

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    1. I’ve lived in Georgia but no further east than that. You guys get humidity which drains me. I do so much better out here in the dry heat. LOL! Glad your summer has been bearable. ❤

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    1. LOL! We are on the far western edge of Phoenix but are out in the middle of nowhere. It’s just a massive housing area. I’ll try to take some pictures of the road leading to our area. That’s where I saw my first coyote. ❤️

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      1. It’s so hard to imagine what that must be like. We are only a couple of miles outside the town (okay it’s a very small town) and I never go in, husband drives in to do the shopping once a week and he complains bitterly about being a slave to the car.

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    1. I do love it here, Kerfe. I grew up in Milwaukee, WI. We had a 3 domed conservatory filled with plants and different habitats. My favorite was always the desert. I knew at an early age that I was in love with the plants and the light! ❤

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          1. Awesome, I would not be freezing anymore… wonderful! I am happy you finally found the perfect spot for all of you: warm but without the humidity you had in Florida.

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    1. The light in the morning is really golden. I know it’s how but there is NO humidity which makes it doable. We stay in during the hottest hours of the day. It’s good. I’m walking again which is really great. ❤

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  12. I visited the desert, one summer, when I was a teen. It was a feeling like no other place I’ve been. I really like your environmentally friendly landscaping. Love the tree in the middle of the faery ring. Wonderful poem. Beautiful photos.

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      1. Thank you, Colleen. My summer schedule is pretty scattered. I have all my medical appointments in the summer, quite a few, plus family trips and trips with my hubby. Just popped in to visit some blogs. 🙂 ❤

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        1. I lived not far from here many years ago. I remember wearing a sweater occasionally. That’s it No freezing cold or damp! And sun… lots of sun! ❤️

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  19. It’s so nice to see where you live, Colleen, and have the landscape of light and shadow immortalized in poetry. I’m so glad you’re planting in such a way as to invite the fairy world to play. ❤

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