Tag Archives: Kerfe Roig

Gogyohka for Grief and Hope (with Audio)

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Owl Moon, Kerfe Roig

Gogyohka for Grief and Hope

follow the light
within the feathered beats of moon song,
a mockingbird sings of love and hope,
between the full moon and the new,
an eternity passes

At dVerse Open Link Night we are remembering Glenn Buttkus, who died last month. This is a poem I wrote just a few days after my mom died in 2020 in the first COVID wave. The human world was shuttered and silent, but spring just kept going on. Here, I’ve paired it with Kerfe’s exquisite Owl Moon. You can read the original post here.

Owl-Winged

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Owl Moon, Kerfe Roig

Owl-Winged

I would wander
like light, ancient pulses from beyond time

or like a river, over stones
and through rocks, roiling, then calm, always seeking after,

never as evanescent as a cloud,
but lingering, like birdsong, and if I dropped notes

like feathers, would you follow
a thousand whispers and shadows,
the brush of owl wings under the moon?

I decided to hold onto the first poem the Oracle gave me early this morning. Then she gave me some intriguing snippets before finally giving me this poem that gives me an excuse to share Kerfe’s beautiful painting again.

Traveler’s Moon

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Owl Moon, Kerfe Roig

Traveler’s Moon

The moon, tosses her red cape,
rises for attention, silver-gowned goddess

can be kindly or fierce. She is hunter and protector.
Some dream under her spell,

but geese journey south with honking chatter,
their giant V sparkles in her light,

and owl with silent wing-whoosh soars,
a silhouetted form, a traveler in the night.

For dVerse, where Sarah has given us a list of moon names as a prompt. How can I resist a moon prompt? I’m using Kerfe Roig’s beautiful image again, which popped into my head as soon as I read the prompt.

Owl Moon with Audio

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Owl Moon by Kerfe Roig

Full and bright, the night alight
with skittering scatters and chitter-chat
of sated rat. The vixen barks to her mate,
and beneath the walls, creatures slither and crawl,
while mice and voles in the shadows hide
as feathered wings outstretched glide–and bide.

And shall I call it owl moon?
A moment in time, perhaps not real—
Imagined flights, unseen sights, but
the planets spin, the stars glow and go
about what they do, and the owl does, too,
with a hoot to the world, he dives,
survives—though it’s fate—not feud,
the hunters and the pursued.

All the questions, unanswered, still are asked—
the moments gone, past to future and to past–

but listen–
the fade of argent song, the hummed goodnight,
as trills and twitters awaken dawn’s light.

This was originally written for Paul Brookes’ Special January Ekphrastic Challenge. Kerfe Roig supplied the beautiful artwork. I’ve added this recording of the poem to go with it, and I’m linking it to dVerse Open Link Night.

Kerfe Day: One More, Final, Final Day of the Ekphrastic Challenge

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Kerfe Roig

A Rainbow Future After the Storm

Soft dove clouds transform to dolphin dark,
again change, and roaring black wolves
pounce

with a flash, then
the shrouded monochrome world becomes a tapestry,

a multitude of shape, color, hues. Here, a strand of azure,
here, emerald-green, glistening with diamond sparkle, woven
under and over

embroidered with the vibrant wishes of children—blue horses, red deer,
twinkling golden stars, a spotted purple dog, a striped-orange cat—

a collection, a connection of
smiling faces brighter than the sun,
dream of a rainbow future–
after the storm has passed.

There was a mixup with the images, so Kerfe has been given her own day! So, this is Day 31 of the challenge, Kerfe Day. You can read the rest of the poems here. Once again, thank you to all the artists and poets. It’s been a wonderful, creative challenge.

I don’t know why, but this song went through my head as I started to write.

Ekphrastic Challenge, Day Twenty-Six

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This is Day Twenty-Six of Paul Brookes’ January going into February Ekphrastic Challenge. All of the artwork is wonderful, but once I saw Kerfe Roig’s “These Hands,” I had to write about them.

  • -Kerfe Roig, “These Hands”

Her Hands

Her hands are a kaleidoscope,
holding within all the colors,
shapes, textures she once touched.
Far distant memories telescoped
and brought close—flaking pink polish on her nails
makes her think of flowers that grew in her garden,
her crooked finger,
reminds her of her mother’s hands.

Her hands are a map,
the etched lines a pathway showing where she’s gone
and where she’s heading. That crosshatch marks the years
of the now-demolished city shop
where she touched goods and gestured to customers—
these show the first time

she picked up a paintbrush, or
held a small boy’s hand as he scampered on a beach.
She sees his boy-face in her mind, clearer to her than his man-face,
though it’s been decades since he was a boy. Her hands

are treasure boxes full of memories—everything she has ever touched—children,
flowers, pets, lovers. She can’t see the spots on her skin, or
the wrinkled creases, but she can feel the touch of my skin—
my hand holding hers.

Day Seventeen: January Ekphrastic Challenge

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For Day Seventeen of Paul Brookes’ Special January Ekphrastic Challenge, I’m responding to one painting. Anyone who knows me, could probably predict I would respond to Kerfe Roig’s “Owl Moon.”

  • –Kerfe Roig, “Owl Moon

Owl Moon

Full and bright, the night alight
with skittering scatters and chitter-chat
of sated rat. The vixen barks to her mate,
and beneath the walls, creatures slither and crawl,
while mice and voles in the shadows hide
as feathered wings outstretched glide–and bide.

And shall I call it owl moon?
A moment in time, perhaps not real—
Imagined flights, unseen sights, but
the planets spin, the stars glow and go
about what they do, and the owl does, too,
with a hoot to the world, he dives,
survives—though it’s fate—not feud,
the hunters and the pursued.

All the questions, unanswered, still are asked—
the moments gone, past to future and to past–

but listen–
the fade of argent song, the hummed goodnight,
as trills and twitters awaken dawn’s light.