Dragon Hunter
By Michelle Garren Flye
Crows call Mom! in midnight voices
But I ignore them, though they could be right
I’ve never done a DNA test
A cowboy in flipflops
I take to the street, hunting dragons
Elusive, strange, wonderful beasts
Slice through the air on wings of glass
Cut my cheek
That will leave a brave mark
But I fired first
It’s captured behind my lens
And I march on
hope
by michelle garren flye
just when all is lost and
the warriors are all gone
leaving dust and bones
swirling at my feet
“look here” you whisper
and I turn to find a rainbow
arching over ruins
as if growing from death
it sparkles like magic
made from diamond tears
wept by poets for politicians
abandoned in the quagmire
it’s a gentle misdirection
and I a willing participant
in your ongoing seduction
of whispered promises
I surrender to your will
surely nothing can be needed
when hope springs from death
and arcs over destruction
surely this is a sign—
the one we’ve waited for
that life will be better soon
that there’s always hope
Aging Grace
By Michelle Garren Flye
How is it that nature ages in grace?
How does the flower hold its charm?
Why does the gardenia smell as nice
When age has yellowed its form?
When the rose drops its petals
It reveals its splendid heart.
The darkened magnolia settles
To death with a very gentle art.
Oh why cannot we learn nature’s ways
Of passing quietly one season or four?
Instead we count and number the days
As if we are keeping score.
I hope we learn this skill as we grow older,
So in the end, we know how to be golder.
Photo by Michelle Garren Flye
Today is, in a very real way, a very big day for me. It’s my 25th wedding anniversary and the day I officially release my 18th book.
Thank you.
It’s hard to celebrate right now, as I have good reason to know. My 50th birthday fell right at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis. My son and my daughter also have celebrated birthdays. Today I have no actual plans to celebrate. I once envisioned a busy day full of well wishing friends for both my book and my marriage. I mean, not as many people make it to their silver wedding anniversary as used to, right? And quite a few authors never see 18 books with their name on the front.
But celebrating is hard right now. People are still sick, still dying. I’m working hard to make sure I’m not one of them. I have nightmares that my family is. And life goes on.
And still, I am happy to announce the publication of my 18th book, Magic at Sea, the seventh book of my Sleight of Hand series (and still a standalone, so you can read it even if you haven’t kept up with the series!). And I am happier still to be married to the same wonderful man for twenty-five years. Rain or shine, we’ve had them both.
Rain or Shine
By Michelle Garren Flye
When did it rain?
I never heard thunder
Or wind or raindrops.
When did they fall?
It must have happened
Behind the scenes
While we were busy
Doing something else.
Something important.
Raising kids, living life,
Paying bills…surviving.
I didn’t know it rained.
Just like so many other
Things have happened
In the background.
It’s funny how you start:
Focused on each other,
Certain nothing will change.
But then it does.
Work and family and life
All change you.
And rain falls unnoticed
Until you see the puddles,
And then you notice the wet
And open an umbrella.
Wheee!
By Michelle Garren Flye
You test the top of the slide
And yell, “It’s slippery, Mommy!”
At first I think you’re scared to try,
But next thing I hear is “Wheee!”
I know how right you are.
Time is slippery, too, I think.
Each second echoes in my heart
But they pass within a wink.
My child, you’re growing too fast—
I know soon you’ll need to be free.
I feel I’m watching you slip past
And all I hear is “Wheee!”
Wisdom of the Baby Bird
By Michelle Garren Flye
Like an eagle or hawk soaring
We want to leap into the sky!
We don’t know what waits;
We just know we want to fly.
Hawks dive onto their prey,
Seagulls wheel above the sea,
Eagles may drift along drafts
Our senses cannot perceive.
Maybe turn our eyes instead
To the baby bird in the nest.
Standing precariously on the edge—
He’s waiting, not taking a rest.
Take a leap of faith—oh yes, let’s do!
But only when the time is right.
Stretch the wings out first—
Take a short practice flight.
Only then will we grow stronger,
Only then will we avoid a plunge
Headfirst into a maelstrom
Of dangers we cannot dodge.
No poem today.
But do not fret and worry.
Poetry returns.
🙂
Seriously, I’m kind of happy to be done with the poem-a-day challenge. Writing poetry—everyday, anyway—gives you a new respect for Emily Dickinson. Not appreciation. Respect. There is a difference! I’ve always appreciated Dickinson, but the volume of poetry she wrote is something I now respect. It’s hard to write a poem every day.
But on to other things. It’s May Day! Let’s celebrate spring in spite of quarantine. What better way than by anticipating my upcoming new book? This is my new romance novel that takes place, of all places, on a cruise ship. Lol, right? If you can stop laughing long enough, though, take into account that I began writing this novel three years ago after I went on a cruise to Alaska. It was an amazing, truly magical experience, and to me, there is nothing so romantic as the sea. So, if you can clear the tears of laughter from your eyes, here’s the cover and a brief excerpt.
“Do you want me to leave?” He turned his hand over in hers so he could curl his fingers around hers.
“I think it would be best. Yes.”
“I will then.” He dropped his hand from hers, but then he leaned forward and kissed her, very quickly and softly, on the lips. “I’ve got plenty to do and you don’t need me here. I won’t see you again before your show tonight, though, so I want you to think about one thing for me.”
She wasn’t sure she could think about anything else but how his lips felt on hers and how much she wanted to repeat that experience. “What?”
“Have you ever once worried about what would happen if this thing doesn’t work out? Or have you just wondered what will happen if it does?”
His words gave her a jolt as she recognized the truth in them. She hadn’t thought about what it would be like to be stuck working on a ship with a man she’d attempted to date, perhaps to see him start another relationship with someone else. Not even once had that occurred to her. Why wasn’t she worried about that?
Because it won’t happen. I feel it. If we let this thing get started between us, it’s not going to stop. And maybe that’s what I’m scared of.
He stepped away from her, his eyes still locked on hers. He nodded. “Neither have I.”
From Magic at Sea by Michelle Garren Flye
So go celebrate May Day with cake, dancing (even if it’s solitary, dance anyway) and singing. If you have a May Pole, decorate it. Smell some flowers. Enjoy life a little. We all deserve it.
The Storm
By Michelle Garren Flye
Remember the year it rained so much
Water stood in every crevice and cranny.
The sky was never blue, just gray.
Like concrete, like it stopped us there.
Then we saw the rainbow and blue sky
And we thought the storm was over.
But it was just a little bit of calm.
And then the real storm started.
First the concrete sky came back
And then it began to move and boil
And rain and wind lashed us until
We cowered inside and watched.
The puddles grew bigger and fatter,
Eating everything they touched
Like some sort of dime movie monster
Until everything was drowned in them.
And then the rain stopped finally,
And we waited to discover
If anything had survived the storm.
I’ve become more and more experimental as the month wears on, it seems. This morning I decided I wanted to write haiku because I didn’t have as much time. But haiku won’t always hold everything you want to say. In a way, haiku became gravity on my dance. So I tried a different way. I’m including both. I actually plan to revisit the second of these later on.
#1
Gravity’s Effect on Dance
By Michelle Garren Flye
Walking by a field—
Three birds startle and take flight.
I laugh in delight.
The sky holds their dance
Steps made up of soars and wheels—
Wish to join the feels!
Stuck instead on earth…
Feet firmly rooted to ground…
My leap only a bound.
#2
Gravity’s Effect on Dance
By Michelle Garren Flye
Walking by a field today,
I watched three birds startle into flight
Seeing their dance, I laughed in delight.
The sky held their dance,
The steps made up of soars and wheels!
Oh how I wished to join their feels.
Stuck instead to the earth,
My dance can never leave ground—
My leaps to gravity are bound.
Ditch Flower
By Michelle Garren Flye
I’ll take your picture now
For tomorrow is uncertain;
We cannot tell when or how
The future pulls the curtain.
It’s pretty sure you’ll go
Sooner than later, my flower,
For the farmer is going to mow
Ere the clouds turn to shower.
Let me capture your grace
Behind my lens to store—
A ditch is not a safe place;
Soon you’ll be here no more.
BREATHE: Michelle Garren-Flye 