Linda Kruschke’s Paint chip prompt today brings the October octaves to an end. Do visit her blog for news about the challenge.
The paint chip words and phrases you have to work with today are iris, Grand Canyon, mist, midnight, and half-and-half. I would like you to use at least two of these in today’s octave. Ideally, you’ll be building on the four octave stanzas you’ve already written. But if you haven’t started yet, feel free to write a stand-alone octave today.
Linda Kruschke
Octave 5
Even if the rift was as wide as the Grand
Canyon, love and forgiveness should
Remedy what has caused the strife, and
Without reconciliation no good would
Be done by offering a gift of flowers,
Though irises of white, yellow and midnight blue
Might remind us of the Creator’s powers;
His great love includes both me and you.
To save you, my valued readers from searching for the previous verses, which were posted earlier this month (Octave 1, Octave 2, Octave 3 and Octave 4) my poem is in this post in its entirety. I noticed that I had become lazy about the rhymes as the month went on, so I have tweaked the fourth octave!
Ups and downs of life
Sometimes life feels like Sisyphus’ boulder.
No-one rolls out the red carpet for us;
Sometimes they give us the cold shoulder
And don’t even drink coffee with us.
We needn’t keep feeling hard done by.
Although some tasks are repetitive,
Thinking of others and how we can try
To help is better than being competitive.
Like damaged nature we can recover
From setbacks and disappointments
Like being separated from a lover.
Some hurts aren’t soothed by ointments.
After the fire cliff-top gorse was black.
I noticed that bracken, bramble and grass
Were the first plants to grow back.
I look for changes each time I pass.
When there are disagreements in life
Between friends or family members
An olive branch should end the strife
And revive the warmth of love’s embers.
If the rift seems impossible to mend
Don’t give up hope! A ghost of a chance
Is better than nothing. Prayers we send
Heavenward won’t be looked upon askance.
Reconciliation may need a radical change
Of attitude from all those involved.
There may be faults on both sides. Strange
Misunderstandings need to be resolved.
We are building on a sure foundation
Even when it seems all we have left
Is like smoke and ash’s desolation.
Surely we won’t be completely bereft.
Even if the rift was as wide as the Grand
Canyon, love and forgiveness should
Remedy what has caused the strife, and
Without reconciliation no good would
Be done by offering a gift of flowers,
Though irises of white, yellow and midnight blue
Might remind us of the Creator’s powers;
His great love includes both me and you.
Sue's Trifles 