wonderingpilgrim

In the Alcove of the Unasked

Sanaa invites the dVerse poet community to delve into their dreams as a rich source for literary expression. I have been attempting this the last little while and offer this nugget in the raw for self-edification more than anything! I walked the long coast,salt in my lungs,hunger in my bones,seeking a table not yet set.TheContinue reading “In the Alcove of the Unasked”

Tripping

If one might take a trip,One could consider Triplet Fallsor Tripod WaterholeCan we get there by Trip Point RoadOr via Trip Creek Station?Only a 2700-kilometre road tripcan link them.(Those we can find)Fill her up!Who’s coming? (c) Dennis Ryle, January, 2026 This is my response to Punam’s dVerse prompt to write a 44-word quadrille using theContinue reading “Tripping”

Lines Across a Divided Country

I’m learning things about poetry I’ve never previously been aware of. It seems that one can enter a conversation with a well-known poet by writing a glosa – taking four lines of any of their works and incorporating them in a particular expansion in one of your own. Björn Rudberg is today’s dVerse host, guidingContinue reading “Lines Across a Divided Country”

Bluff Knoll’s White Christmas

It happened on Christmas Day in ‘ninety-eightA once-in-a-lifetime event!Western Australia’s only “White Christmas”at the height of summer.Not just a light dustingTwenty centimetres blanketing the summitTwo years before a new millenniumHarbinger of stranger things! (c) Dennis Ryle, January 2026 This is in response to the dVerse Poetics invitation sent out by Kim. It is inspired byContinue reading “Bluff Knoll’s White Christmas”

Here lies lies!

Lisa invites the dVerse community to take a line from the song “Bury Me,” by Alejandro Escovedo . The task is to write a 144-word “prosery” piece using the exact phrase Bury me with lies I told. I am delighted and somewhat energised to rise to the challenge! Bury me with lies I told, asContinue reading “Here lies lies!”

The Train We Can’t Board

Melissa from Mom With a Blog is our dVerse host right now. She is immersing us in Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues, trusting it will inspire our muse. Here’s my melancholy effort. Please don’t counsel me, I’m trying to sit within the skin of another! He came to spring captives freeThat young rabbi from GalileeBut maybeContinue reading “The Train We Can’t Board”

SMILE

Smile! – What if I don’t feel like it?Write a poem about it – a quadrille – exactly forty-four words!The rebel arises within me.So many fake smiles crowd memory’s vaultConcealing assassins’ intent.Besides, I have a missing front toothMy smile appears uncouth! (c) Dennis Ryle, January 2026 De Jackson (aka WhimsyGizmo) points out it’s the firstContinue reading “SMILE”

ABCalling

A New Year venture awaitsBegging towards taking up penCalling projects forth from fevered mind Dickens started it allEnergising my adolescent Curiosity ShopFanning flames that fired imagination Great Expectations glowing with anticipationHard Times intervenedI reluctantly laid pen aside Just as I had given up all hopeKilburn school opened an opportunityLeaning into new learning Mastering turns of phraseNeverContinue reading “ABCalling”

Traffic Lights

Dark, grey, tinted, large and ominous, the plate reads 01DRAGON, its gaze catching mine in the mirror of my headlamps. This minotaur lurks at a red light, where the chaos of the unfinished Stirling Mitchell Freeway Interchange— labyrinth or maze?— frustrates those who travel, longing for a clear path, avoiding Innaloo rat-runs, steering through roadworks,Continue reading “Traffic Lights”

Epiphany Haibun

Stranger Things hints at dimensions that are closer than our own breathing. The mood is dark, sinister and compelling. The world as we thought we knew it is transforming. Thin places once hinted at glorious light. Now they also open hazards, concurrently concealing and revealing the dread of the yawning abyss. Yet another dimension, moreContinue reading “Epiphany Haibun”