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Just A Pinch: One Quadrille, Two Quadrilles

Written for De Jackson (aka WhimsyGizmo) @dVerse Quadrille #193: Poems in a Pinch

Somebody, Pinch Me

I’m feeling pinched
and harried
from the ticking of
the clock
It’s already half past
yesterday,
I’m wound tight—
I could choke

In another half-day
light will surrender
to the night
I’ll go insane
thinking the moon
thinks me unworthy
of its pearly light.

© selma
(44 words)

Pinched and Placated

I’ll sit under the willow
she’ll weep her cares to me
I’ll listen to the silence
paused upon the wind
and full of me without clocks
—like a bird inflating her feathers—
will count all my blessings
until the sun is pinched and orange.

© selma
(44 words)


Thanks for reading.
You are worthy of spectacular sunsets
You are worthy of the moon’s pearly light too

And tonight, with the first full moon of the new year… get your fill.

Selma Martin
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This Post Has 43 Comments

  1. rajkkhoja

    You are worthy of spectacular sunsets
    You are worthy of the moon’s pearly light too

    And tonight, with the first full moon of the new year… get your fill. So beautiful words use.
    Very nice words use a pinch.

    1. Selma Martin

      You appreciated my words, aww 😊 Thanks, Raj. Happy moon viewing to you.

  2. Robbie Cheadle

    Hi Selma, the poems in this post are delightful. Thanks for sharing and happy Friday.

    1. Selma Martin

      Happy Friday and weekend dear Robbie
      I’m glad you enjoyed the poems.

    1. Selma Martin

      Hey, dear Yve. Delighted that you liked them. And the Willow. Xoxo 🌳 blessings dear one.

  3. Sadje

    Beautifully written my friend

    1. Selma Martin

      Thank you dear Sadje.

      Sadje, did WP recently unsubscribe you from here? I got a notification that you’re following me NOW 🤷🏽‍♀️ strange. Anyway. Thanks for the follow.

      1. Sadje

        That was something I did by mistake, when I was trying to save your post on the reader.

        1. Selma Martin

          Ah. It happens. Blessings dear friend—glad to know it wasn’t Someone else impersonating you.
          It happens, you know… thank you dearly.

    1. Kathryn LeRoy

      How about shift, or perhaps my subconscious saw you sifting thoughts and weighing their consequence. Either way, lovely and thought-provoking.

      1. Selma Martin

        Yes, how about that shift 👏🏽

        I sifted , counting and recounting words for the quadrille. 😆

        So happy you liked it. Xoxo be warm dear friend. Thinking of you. Fondly.

  4. paeansunplugged

    Selma, how lovely! Love the contrasting images you created. ❤️

    1. Selma Martin

      Punam. Thanks most warmly. Please stay warm —signs of spring everywhere. Thanks for reading and commenting.

    2. Selma Martin

      Punam. Thanks most warmly. Please stay warm —signs of spring everywhere. Thanks for reading and commenting. Xoxo 🤗

  5. de

    Sun. Moon. Swoon.
    I love both of these, Selma. Perfectly contrasted, and cast our way.

    1. Selma Martin

      Such a great quadrille prompt dear De. Thanks so dearly for reading and commenting. Stay warm.

  6. Grace

    Love this specially the second Quadrille. Good to be grateful and count all the blessings.

    1. Selma Martin

      Most delighted you read dear Grace. Thank you. Blessings.

  7. memadtwo

    The rhythm of the first one catches that pinched feeling exactly! And I like that you relaxed into the second one. (K)

    1. Selma Martin

      Aww. Thanks for enjoying them both. 😜 I needed to find a way for a better ending. Thanks for reading and commenting K. Happy weekend.

  8. Anonymous

    “It’s already half-past yesterday” I really liked that line. I’ve never heard that term and yet it quite describes a time frame. Very clever and catch phrasing in your poetry. Nice.

  9. Cheryl, Gulf Coast Poet

    The marsh willows here in SW Florida have new spring-green leaves, and the red maples are in bloom! It’s spring!

    I always loved weeping willows. I like how they gave you comfort in your third quadrille, Selma! <3

    1. Selma Martin

      Wow. So Spring has sprung there. How lovely. Do you have cherry blossoms? Or is it the Jacaranda there? Lots to look forward to. Bless you.
      Glad you liked the poem that resulted.
      And your lovely comments warm my heart. 💜

      1. Cheryl, Gulf Coast Poet

        Jacarandas, native to Australia, are popular here. I had a huge one in my yard when I lived in Sarasota. Some are planted along the road near our old house in South Venice. I haven’t seen any in this immediate area. I think our climate is too warm for cherry blossoms. They may have them in Northern Florida. I used to enjoy cherry blossoms in DC, a beautiful gift from Japan, planted around the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial.

        1. Selma Martin

          Here the early flowering variety of the cherry tree has started to open. The color is striking. Very pink. It’s called Kawazu Zakura blooms. (After the Kawazu River where they first bloomed)
          They bloom alongside a bright yellow plant whose name I forgot right now. It’s a lovely sight.
          Enjoy your spring, dear one. Xo 🤗

        2. Selma Martin

          Nanohana—rapeseed is what it’s called. I just remembered. 😂
          It’s quite a lovely sight.

    1. Selma Martin

      I’m delighted you think so my friend. Thanks so much. 🤗

  10. pvcann

    Two wonderful poems Selma, though for me the second runs deeper. The first touched my own feelings around time, season, moon, light. The second lifted me.

    1. Selma Martin

      Hey Paul. I’m delighted you read and found the second one uplifting. So happy. I too needed that kind of ending the first one didn’t give. Happy it worked for you as well. Blessings and all the best in the new year. Xo

      1. pvcann

        Thank you Selma, and blessings right back to you too 🙂

    1. Selma Martin

      Sweet as usual. Happy new week Maria. Blessings.

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