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

Definitely dry, sis!
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Ha, Ha! Oh, yeah it is dry! I do love it here. I don’t ache anymore and am out walking every morning! Great for weight loss! ❤
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Bless you 💜🙏🏽
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Trying to stay young! LOL! ❤
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We call want that elixir!
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Your beautiful poem perfectly describes your early morning view of the world, Colleen. So glad it’s not stifling hot all the time…
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Thanks, Jaye. I can feel the change in the seasons beginning. The mornings aren’t as stifling as they were in July. But, the afternoons… YIKES! I stay in. 😀
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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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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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Love the openness of your location,, We are surrounded by forests living in the heart of Robin Hood country 🙂
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Oh, I loved living in the UK. I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath in East Anglia many years ago. I miss it to this day. I felt a real connection to the land there. ❤️
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Wonderful to know Colleen that you loved our country so much 🙂 ❤
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I had my youngest daughter in Britain. I’m deeply connected in many ways. ❤
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How wonderful .. 🙂 and I am so pleased our paths have crossed 🙂
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“We” always seem to find each other. It’s part of the collective, I think. ❤
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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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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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Thanks for posting the photos, Colleen. I have a better idea now, and realise that you don’t live alone in the middle of Monument Valley…
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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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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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Us too, Jane. LOL! 😂❤️
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🙂
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I did take some photos of the road leading into our housing area. That will give you a real feel for the desert. I’ll share in another post. ❤
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Thanks!
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Thanks for sharing Colleen. Plenty of sky and that wonderful golden light. (K)
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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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Love your poems the pictures. It does look dry!
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Thank you. Oh, my… it is dry. We’ve only had a smattering of rain. No monsoon season this year. Thanks for stopping by. ❤
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Holy cow, that’s H.O.T! Too bad those cactuses don’t give off more shade 🙂
Enjoyed the photos of your lovely home and the beauty of your poetry- try to stay cool ❤
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Thanks, Jacquie. It’s hot in the afternoon for sure. I do love the heat here. NO humidity. It’s very different. The plants are amazing. ❤
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Colleen, whether dry or not, it looks beautiful. This is where you live, isn’t it?
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Yes. This is our new home. We moved from Colorado because the high elevation was causing me health problems. We’re good now. I swear… I’m not moving again!! LOL! ❤
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I remember you told abot the problems. I may have missed it but where exactly do you live now?
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Buckeye, Arizona. It’s really the perfect spot. ❤
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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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Yes. It’s so lovely here. You would love it! We’re about 5 and a half hours from Seal Beach, CA where Ron’s brother lives. 😍
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OMG😃You are so close, that is sooooo fantastic. I love Seal Beach. You really found a great spot. So happy for you, Colleen 💖
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Thanks, Erika. I feel like we were led here. It’s really perfect. ❤️
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Wow, it was meant to be, wonderful 💖
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Thanks so much. ❤
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😊💖
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Absolutely Colleen 💜
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113F!? Aaaaagh!
Still, love the match between cinquains and photos! The shadows really have a flow.
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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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Walking is great. My mom has started walking now, and I think she’s seeing some health benefits from it already! So keep it up! 🙂
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Oh, yeah. I’m loving it! 😍🥵
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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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Hello, my dear E.C. It’s hot as Hades here but so very nice without the humidity. I stay inside during the afternoon. LOL! ❤
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Ok, I’m trying again, I forget what I wrote the first 20 times. LOL ❤
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Beautiful photos of the landscape, Colleen. Love your poem! 🙂
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Hello, Miriam! Thank you. How are you? Well, I hope. ❤
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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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I hope you’re doing well. I’m getting hummingbirds in my new back garden. As plants and trees grow it will keep getting better. ❤️
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Good to hear you have hummingbirds. Hope it’s warm enough they don’t have to fly south. ❤
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Oh, it’s hot! 🥵
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Yes, I know. I have friends living 90 miles south of Phoenix. 😦
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Very nice! Thank you for sharing your world through photos, prose, and poetry.
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You’re welcome. I’m thrilled you enjoyed. ❤️
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🙂
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Oh, I love your photos, Colleen! Your poem is a perfect reflection of your lovely area. 😊
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Thanks, Eugenia. We do love it here. I can’t wait for winter. We’ll have perfect temps! ❤️
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What are the winters like there?
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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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Hi Colleen, I love the pictures you’ve sharing. Your poem is wonderful. I admit here that I had to look up the definition of a Cinquain. 🙂 I love looking up words and as a amateur poet, I appreciate learning.
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That’s fabulous! Lisa you should join in on my poetry challenge. We all have fun with syllables! ❤️
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Excellent pictures and poem.
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Thanks. I’m glad you enjoyed. ❤️
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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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Thank you, Diana. I’m trying to give back to the land. I think the mother goddess needs all the help she can get. LOL! ❤
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Great poetry and lovely photos!
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Thanks, Sis! Are you home yet? ❤️❤️❤️
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At the moment, I am in rehab!
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Oh no. I had hoped you were back home. Sending you lots of love my dear sister. ❤️❤️❤️
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Great post! I loved your expressions, phrases and imagery! The photos add a unique flavour of calmness and serenity to the poem! Good job!🌸
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Wow! Thank you. 🥰
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