overwhelmed by the beauty of the stars in the cloudless sky night's shadows deepen as the moon casts its reflection on the sea light and darkness...the song and the silence of eternity
copyright © lizl bennefeld, 2o23-o1-14.
Ronovan Writes SIJO Wednesday Poetry Challenge #44.
Use OVERCOME as your inspiration this week.
living on promises ... vague and open to prolonged debates generations shift perceptions, changing meanings of the words deeply etched on a far-off shore, truth remains after every storm
copyright © lizl bennefeld, 2o23-o1-o8 (rev. 1/9).
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #43.Use PROMISE as your inspiration this week.
memories, tattered and fragmented by chaos and time twisted threads and patches that don't make sense anymore mend your vision with bold colors, creating new from the old
copyright © lizl bennefeld, 2o22-12-3o.
Almanac Quilt, by Rhoda E. Berry.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #42. Use
RECOVER as your inspiration this week.
as the days and nights creep past,
one by one, a living stream
barren pastures, snow, and thirsty fields
hot stars and frigid moonlight
the gift of change to feed the minds and
eyes behind the windows
copyright © lizl bennefeld, 2o22-12-23.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #41.
Use GIFT as your inspiration this week.
I am on the journey of a lifetime...the ending is unknown. The "now" is entrancing. I cannot see it all before it's flown. I hope for a great ending and a comprehensive review.
Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-12-20.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #40.
Use TRIP as your inspiration this week.
Only the present moment contains life.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
in the midst of outer chaos, quiet passion abides its pebbled path leads on to the shore's ruffled waves I arrive to each moment ... I am home in the now
Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-12-10.
Image by Ruthann Wagner from Pixabay
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #39.
Use QUOTE as your inspiration this week.
so thankful that my peopled world is small and quiet time enough and more to think...only echoes left behind those will not slam the door as they too finally slip away
Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-12-08.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #37.
Use THANKFUL as your inspiration this week.
winds of late autumn lay bare
the stark beauty of tree branches
the main wooden axis and the stem,
the tree's steady bole
though gales prune weaker limbs,
twigs hold forth their leaf buds at spring
Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-12-03.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesda\y Poetry Challenge #38
Use REVEAL as your inspiration this week.
we are who we are at the moment...in this moment ephemeral each unique, ever changing becoming more of what we'll be
— lizl bennefeld, © 2022-12-01.
Winds of Change by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed under CC-BY 2.0
Free from fear but not free to ignore others—
rights and obligations.
Freedom to work with one another
until the work gets done.
Your strength, my weakness—
others' weaknesses may be our strengths.
Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-11-20.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #36.
Use FREE as your inspiration this week.
clouds on the water
Copyright © 2022-11-17, by Lizl Bennefeld.
pathway to the stars
wavering of distant lights
Listen for the lights that sing messages our ears cannot hear. Look about for the voices that create our pathways step by step. Feel guardian winds reveal the miracle that every life has been.
Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-11-13.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #35.
Use COPE as your inspiration this week
Image by Larisa Koshkina from Pixabay
There are stacks of life's boxes in the closet, floor to ceiling. Labels are fading, some beyond recognition...new ones still clear. When we leave, we'll take dancing shoes and costumes, discard the rest.
Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-11-02.
“They Have Materialized” by Brett Kiger is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #34.
Use DANCE as your inspiration this week.
Enticing aromas of family dinner under apple trees Fall harvest stored away, it's time to celebrate together Favorite songs and laughter swell as evening turns to starry night
Copyright © 2022-10-31. by Lizl Bennefeld.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #33.
Use WINNING as your inspiration this week.
“Team 3 apple orchard” by USDA NRCS New Mexico
is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.
Mazed by the madness: Kaleidoscope colors! Blinding lights! Megaphones and microphones—endless big-screen shows of nothing. The new wizards of aah! peek around transparent curtains.
Copyright © 2022-10-19 by Lizl Bennefeld.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #32.
Use MAZE as your inspiration this week.
“kaleidoscope (93)” by lisafree54 is marked with CC0 1.0.
In memory of those who presaged the roads we follow, celebrate their achievements, faithful to their final goals. Respect and welcome others as we pave the way to peace.
Copyright © 2022-10-12 by Lizl Bennefeld.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #31.
Use FESTIVAL as your inspiration this week.
From the first, I remember music
pour from our old radio,
My parents sang and danced before
they gently laid me down to sleep.
Memories sweet and timeless,
still alive as I've grown old.
.
Copyright © 2022-10-06, by Lizl Bennefeld.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #30.
Use MOVIES as your inspiration this week.
Crackling leaves beneath my feet
hide the sight of lingering green.
Squirrels run high above my head
harvesting their forest feasts.
As evening wanes an owl asks Whoo?
Whoo? scurries home to sleep and dreams.
Copyright © 2022-09-27., by Lizl Bennefeld.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #29.
Use AUTUMN as your inspiration this week.
without mud and water, the lovely lotus flowers will not grow without the sun, the moon could not mirror its beauty on the lake joy and sorrow join together to create the fullness of life
Copyright © 2022-09-21., by Lizl Bennefeld.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #28.
Use BALANCE as your inspiration this week.
tenacious winds sweep ocean sands
higher up eroded beaches
fallen trees tangle barren branches
with bleaching bones and roots
the sea is naked ... footprints turned to clay ...
bird songs echo from the past
Copyright © 2022-09-17, by Lizl Bennefeld.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #26.
Use PERSISTENCE as your inspiration this week.
“Skeleton” by fw42 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Aloft, eagles quarter their hunting space...
float on rivers in the sky.
They hunt in pairs, often four birds or six...
their sharp eagle eyes.
In dreams I float high above empty city streets,
not knowing who I search for.
Copyright © 2022-09-16., by Lizl Bennefeld.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #27.
Use SOAR as your inspiration this week.
breathe in deeply…find more space for sounds and thoughts and dreaming taste the mingling currents as the world shifts from now to new inspiration is the stuff by which creation is made
Copyright © 2022-09-03., by Lizl Bennefeld.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #25. Use INSPIRATION as your inspiration this week.
within every hardship, opportunities are buried skills to hone, talents to discover, knowledge to be gained at the end—success or failure—satisfaction is the prize
[sijo.] Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-08-24.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #24.
Use ADVERSITY as your inspiration this week.
I try to not give advice or naively follow others'. Situations may not be the same for you as for me. Our dialogues, though, could reveal more options and new paths.
[sijo.] Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-08-19.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #23.
Use ADVICE as your inspiration this week.
Photo by Ales Krivec on Unsplash
sweat and tears will not achieve anything
without a goal to reach
goals emerge where dreams are fed and watered
tended, pruned back, and shaped
anchored to earth and reaching the sky...
soon to build a longer bridge
[sijo.] Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-08-15.
“Starship | Artist Rendering” by Official SpaceX Photos is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 .
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #22.
Use ACHIEVEMENT as your inspiration this week.
as the world around us changes
so must the long-term goals
common practices and mindsets
have failed through the years
as the rungs on life's ladder break . . .
I will learn to walk on air
[sijo.] Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-08-07.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #21.
Use GOALS as your inspiration this week.
more stars in the sky
than grains of ancient sand
polished in the waves
do galaxies live forever...or
must dreams and stardust die
[tanka] Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-08-02.
Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge 421 SAND and Life.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #17. Use WORK as your inspiration this week
the work of our hands as we
prepare the soil for planting
the fruits of the land and the dirt
that holds their seeds in trust
the weight of every harvest rests
with cherishing a fertile earth
[sijo.] Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-07-06.
Image: “Spring Planting Day” by sgrace is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #16. Use PARTY as your inspiration this week
too late to the party—the fires are out, the guests moved on a cloudy sky—no moonlit path or guiding stars to point the way light will surely come at dawn with signs and roads to follow
[sijo.] Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-06-29.
Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #15. Use Summer as your inspiration this week.
woodland flowers revel in spring
before tree leaves block summer's light
summer sun and springtime flowers
mingle as they appear and leave
with fall's cool days and longer nights
Joe-Pye-weed and gentian bloom
[sijo.] Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-06-22.
Ronovan Writes #Weekly #HaIku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge 414: Guide and Slip.
dusk slips into night as northern guide stars appear to point the way home
Copyright © 2022-06-17, by Lizl Bennefeld.
Ursa Major and Ursa Minor mean, in English, big bear and little bear.
reality is the sum
of everything that is and isn't
changed and constantly changing...
endless causes and effects
permanent uncertainty till
all the universes end
[sijo.] Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-06-16
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #14. Use Reality as your inspiration this week.
the future that I will not live
must wait its turn while I take mine
the tasks I do are for today—
tomorrow's fall to others' hands
tomorrow and the years to come
will all depend on yesterdays
[sijo.] Copyright © Lizl Bennefeld, 2022-06-08.
Ronovan Writes Sijo Wednesday Poetry Challenge #13. Use FUTURE as your inspiration this week.
Image by winterseitler from Pixabay
Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge 413: Divide and Rise.
twilight divides blinding sun from cold desert rock ... to sunrise from night after sunset the moon and lesser stars show paths to home
Copyright © 2022-06-06, by Lizl Bennefeld.
“Image note: another beautiful night begin ! [Explored]” by Israel Nature Photography by Ary is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 
.
Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge 412: Beast and Steam.
steam rises around snow monkeys in their hot springs as they share the warmth the beastly thing about winter is how to not turn to ice
Copyright © 2022-05-30, by Lizl Bennefeld.
Photo by Billy Pasco on Unsplash.
Note: A snow monkey is also known as a Japanese macaque.
Another poem, written to this week’s prompt words.
feathered clouds strands of crystal ice breathless wind
Copyright © by Liz Bennefeld, 2022-03-07. All rights reserved.
Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge 400 FEATHER and Whisper.
It has been a long time since I wrote this poem, but it is one of my most favorite among those I have written in this century. (I may write another to this prompt, but for now I could not resist the repetition.)
Gift your muse quill pens
and bid her feathers whisper
love to your belovèd
Copyright © by Liz Bennefeld, 2015-10-26. All rights reserved.
Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge 400 FEATHER and Whisper.
Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge 399 BELL and Pan
distant clouds gold pannikins of light resounding bells
Copyright © 2022-02-28, by Lizl Bennefeld.
Photo by Timothy Eberly on UnsplashRonovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge 397 CROWN and GRIT.
fading path . . .
the sea's cresting tide
smooths the sand
[haiku.] Copyright © 2022-02-15, by Lizl Bennefeld.
Synonyms used: crown = crest; grit = sand.
Image by kordula vahle from Pixabay
morning sun
frost on the window pane
yellows and blues
Copyright © 2022-02-02, by Liz Bennefeld.
Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge 394 GLARE and Mask.
dazzling spotlights
mask the aging sets and props
awed patrons applaud
performers take their last bows
end of an era…closing night
[tanka.] Copyright © 2022-01-25, by Lizl Bennefeld.
on edge for a moment between wind gusts the leaf’s anticipation the joy of final rest
[kimo.] Copyright © 2020-12-01, by Liz Bennefeld.
Quilted Poetry 