This one was ringing in my mind due to circumstances today at work. It does have a certain poetic ring.

The first time is happenstance.
The second time is coincidence.
The third time is enemy action. - Auric Goldfinger, Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.

Still getting back into the posting rhythm so I completely spaced poetry Wednesday, for shame. A day late, better than never I suppose.

On the Porch
As I lie roofed in, screened in,
From the pattering rain,
The summer rain—
As I lie
Snug and dry,
And hear the birds complain:

Oh, billow on billow,
Oh, roar on roar,
Over me wash
The seas of war.
Over me—down—down—
Lunges and plunges
The huge gun with its one blind eye,
The armored train,
And, swooping out of the sky,
The aeroplane.
Down—down—
The army proudly swinging
Under gay flags,
The glorious dead heaped up like rags,
A church with bronze bells ringing,
A city all towers,
Gardens of lovers and flowers,
The round world swinging
In the light of the sun:
All broken, undone,
All down—under
Black surges of thunder …

Oh, billow on billow
Oh, roar on roar,
Over me wash
The seas of war …

As I lie roofed in, screened in,
From the pattering rain,
The summer rain—
As I lie
Snug and dry,
And hear the birds complain. - Harriet Monroe

Monsoons have been in full force the last few days, this is a small prayer towards their continued success, we need the rain.

Dancing Waters
Springs waters dance down
mountains into river beds
delighted to be released
from ice and snow.

Dancing waters refresh my soul
relieving anxious stress
of dangerous drought.

Spring waters dance down
mountains into waterfalls,
gushing out like broken fire hydrants

Hopeful prayers fill my soul:
that it will be enough
to quench summer's thirst. - Marilyn MacDonald McWilliams, Mountain Gazette 103

Watching

I watch the watchers, sipping their coffees outside the cafe. The watchers watch the passing tourists, buzzing by in their cars. The tourists watch the scenery of Sedona, passing by the red rock mesas. We all watch, but do we see? - Thomas Vincent

Generally for Poetry Wednesday I try to pick something with imagination and creativity, not the same old poem people constantly cite, all that being said, it's my blog and I can break that rule if I want to. This poem is overused, overcited, but it is also rather good. Since I am heading towards my own Walden Pond o' sorts it just fits.

The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that, the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. - Robert Frost

Take your own less traveled path... -------- AUTHOR: Thomas Vincent DATE: 11/20/2002 08:17:22 AM

Since it's Poetry Wednesday anyways, a new site on Poetry, Poetry International Web. (Mefi)

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing the self is enlightenment. Conquering others is power; conquering the self is strength. Know what is enough, and you'll be rich. Persevere, and you'll develop a will. Remain in the center, and you'll always be at home. Die without dying, and you'll endure forever. ---Tao Te Ching

The Internet needs another Meme like I need a hole in my head...That being said and my enjoyment of some of the weekly questions like Friday Five. I got to thinking, I would like to do something like that, but something of my own and if others are interested they can join, but I wanted something a bit literary. So I decided to have the Humpday Poem. 9 to 5 working office stiffs sucks the soul, humpday is the worst of lot, so perhaps it's the perfect day for alittle poetry. I started liking poetry back when I went to summer camp, back at Sky Y camp in Prescott, our counseler read a poem or two every night after lights out. The rules for the Humpday Poem will be simple, just publish a poem on Wednesdays, either of your own writing or of a poet whose work you enjoy.

Summer Night in Muinch
The streets are alive,
global city realized,
As the rain soaks us
we gather under cover
the world becomes smaller.

Later a Japanese woman types away in an internet cafe,
we share experiences of the Hofbrau haus
to half a world away.

Newsstand in the train station
has newspapers the worldwide.
No matter the taste
Muinch will provide,
Beer, Sex, Love, History,
she welcomes all.
Thomas Vincent, August 2002

Certainly not my best, but upbeat mood to start the Humpday Poem.