Pleasure

All Poems, Anniversaries, Birthdays, Memories, Mother Love, Pleasure, Siblings, Spirituality

Bouquet

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My sister and her husband arrived with a bouquet.

Revealing all the colors of June.

Illuminating the kitchen, buoying spirits.

Daisies, mums, Peruvian lilies.

Snapdragons, Japanese irises.

A toast to our dual festivities.

Birthday and wedding anniversary.

Only last week.

Already marked at the seashore.

But, they persisted.

Despite the cruelty of racing time.

Their own health issues.

Busy schedules.

Sibling and her mate.

Filling the gap.

Where our own mother used to stand.

At the forefront of congratulations.

Making sure each occasion acknowledged.

Duly noted.

Be it with party, card, dinner, gift.

So, there it was.

Perfume in a vase.

Wafting felicitations.

And memories of our mother.

A special visit remembering us

with a floral serenade.

Who expected maternal breath

to help us celebrate?

 

Lynn Benjamin

June 23, 2024

All Poems, Animals/Insects, Emotions, Farewell, Loss, Natural Beauty, Plants, Pleasure, Seasons

Summer Solstice Arrives

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Summer solstice arrives.

Soaring into the heart of June.

Longest day of the year.

For butterflies, bees, chipmunks.

For me.

Lover of natural illumination.

Walks at dawn and dusk.

With a Tilley hemp hat upon my head.

Tipping it to the sun.

As we tilt closer.

Like I would a glass of champagne.

Celebrating natural milestones.

Red and pink beebalm blooms.

Lips wide, enticing winged creatures.

Bright orange butterfly weed.

Beckoning monarchs, swallowtails.

Linden blooms carpeting lawns.

For queens and princesses to tread.

Mulberries hanging heavy on branches.

Staining streets as they fall.

Congregations of day lilies praying.

Tiny green lemons bursting to life.

Frogs bellowing mating calls.

Does gazing upwards quizzically.

Baby geese growing as large as parents.

Ready to take wing.

Each scene, a piece of the jigsaw.

Filling in the frame of bright June days.

Do plants and animals tire of so much light?

Are they hungrier, thirstier?

Or are they greedy like me?

Wanting to seize sunbeams?

Already sad to bid the solstice farewell.

Bit by bit what’s sunlit will fade.

As earth slips away from sun.

Shorter days bringing nighttime shade.

 

Lynn Benjamin

June 22, 2024

All Poems, Environment/Mother Earth, For Children, Natural Beauty, Pleasure, Spring Lake 2024, Trips and Places

Dunes in Spring Lake

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How many people stop to look at dunes?

Before crossing the boardwalk to the beach in Spring Lake?

It’s tempting to run past.

Set feet on sand.

Cool off in steady surf.

But, if you pause, the fragrance of untamed roses intoxicates.

Elegant blooming sweet peas stretch.

Into hillsides of pink poetry.

Blowing this way, that.

Attracting queen bumble bees.

Hosta lilies sway in unexpected pockets.

How did they find their way there?

Errant seeds settling in a tangled meadow?

Lush grasses, knotweed, tall curled red dock buffeting about.

All adding perspective, depth, dimension.

Sharp contrast to manicured gardens around houses.

Cared for by professionals for landscaping perfection.

No, here on dunes, it’s natural.

Plants growing untamed, wild.

A sight to soften senses.

Meet Mother Nature’s child.

 

Lynn Benjamin

June 18, 2024

 

Adult Children, All Poems, Family, Pleasure, Spring Lake 2024, Stories, Trips and Places

Shopper

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I am not a shopper.

Never rejoicing in scanning racks.

Full of colorful jackets, skirts, dresses.

Seeking the perfect size, price point.

Especially now when service in most stores, diminished.

Unlike my childhood days at the Blum Store.

When attendants hovered about to help.

But, my daughter, like her grandmother, loves the sport.

Knowing well her style, her colors, what suits her.

Going at it like a hunt.

Checking tags, touching materials.

Gathering her prey to try on.

In tiny mirrored dressing rooms.

I like watching her movements.

Lithe, limber, full of energy.

Animating her, making eyes wider, smile broader.

As she zeroes in on her mark.

So, when I’m with her, I, too, delight.

Wake up from languidness.

Catch her zest, resilience,

joy in nailing the prize.

Deftly pull out my credit card

to join her exercise!

 

Lynn Benjamin

June 17, 2024

All Poems, Birthdays, Natural Beauty, Pleasure, Seasons

What Month?

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What month were you born in?

Do you feel a special kinship to it?

Like I do after almost seventy-five years?

To the month of June?

What seduced me?

To emerge mid-June?

For I was due the end of May.

What is it about this month?

Granting the longest days?

Shortest nights?

I rejoice in tossing away sleep for daylight.

Running outside in tees and shorts.

Letting sunshine warm face, arms.

Breezes animate, enliven.

Each sense be aroused.

Smells of roses, magnolias, linden blooms.

Tastes of thyme, dill, basil.

Moving to melodies of wrens, robins.

Wandering in rhythm with feet.

Knowing the day lingers.

No cramming, no pressure.

Pace relaxed, not hurried.

Each breath in, a wave of ecstasy.

Filling heart, soul.

Titillating feet, hands.

Like tide pools on the beach.

Warm, balmy.

Each breath out, a wish for more.

A need.

Supplication to return.

Flood the spirit with joy.

The body with sensuous delights.

For June, the perfect combination.

Sounds, sights, caress.

If only she would stay with us,

I’d never seek egress.

Lynn Benjamin

June 11, 2024

Aging, All Poems, Change, Family, Gym/exercise, Health/Illness, Humor, Love, Pleasure, Seasons, Spouses

Transformation

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Bob transforms before my eyes.

Noting new muscles in stomach, thighs.

Increasing weights on machines.

Walking with zip, alacrity.

Signing up for classes to strengthen core.

Watching carbs, losing weight.

Shrinking from pant size forty to thirty-six.

A number he hasn’t worn since his twenties.

Why do people think a man of seventy-five can’t change?

Even become younger?

Stare at himself in the mirror like a seventeen-year-old?

Study his physique?

Buy stylish clothing?

New undergarments, socks?

Hold my hand, rub my back?

Flirt, enchant, allure with passion?

Wax poetic about flowers?

Blooming clematis, daisies, lavender.

Waiting for bee balm, Echinacea to bare petals.

Attract hummingbirds, butterflies.

Notice mating calls of frogs, foxes?

Cardinals, robins, wrens

Luscious sensuality abounds.

June’s vitality makes it easy to be young.

No matter your age.

Passion floats with pollen through the air.

Settling golden on the skin.

Transfigured, we instantly take care.

With vigor, once again smitten.

 

Lynn Benjamin

June 3, 2024

All Poems, Animals/Insects, For Children, Natural Beauty, Pleasure, Seasons, Stories

May is Full of Stories

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May is full of stories.

Unfolding faster than you can keep up.

Just when one ends, another reveals itself.

Grabbing your attention.

Goslings getting plump, growing gray feathers.

Soon to fly away.

Frogs, silent only days ago, now bellowing for mates.

Cardinals, robins, sparrows cavorting among trees.

Singing to the wind and each other.

A red fox darting about.

Crisscrossing driveways, hiding behind houses.

Chipmunks, squirrels, bunnies playing tag.

Underneath bushes, in gardens.

Breezes swirling with perfumes.

Mixing, mingling.

Magnolias and roses, lavender and rosemary.

Clumps of yellow daylilies.

Hydrangeas carrying bouquets.

Peonies, wisteria, wild roses, comfrey.

The earth sings and dances just for us.

Bursts out in hues and smells.

Enchants, enthralls, no need for words.

Absorbs us in its spells.

 

Lynn Benjamin

May 29, 2024

All Poems, Emotions, Gym/exercise, Pleasure, Stories

Tempting Fate

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The morning, breezy, overcast.

Inviting two walks.

Before, after breakfast.

But, dark clouds hover.

Forecast predicting storms.

Arriving earlier than declared.

Then, hiatus.

Touch of sun.

Let’s run outside again, we call to one another.

Grabbing umbrellas, rain hats.

Wanting one more go around the block.

A few more dry minutes.

Between tempests.

To stretch legs.

Along the same path.

Now glistening from showers.

Distracted by angelinas, foxglove blooms.

Forgetting it would rain again.

Till we feel pitter pat on hands, shoes.

Slowly picking up speed.

Becoming a vertical river.

We push up umbrellas.

Increasing pace.

But the torrent, relentless.

Soaking shirts, shoes.

We stop under a small overhang.

To catch our breath.

Wait for the downpour to lighten.

Before sprinting home.

Down the middle of the street.

Avoiding deep puddles.

Cars on either side.

Making it back sopping wet,

tempting fate, succumbing.

But instead of misery, regret,

returning home, humming.

 

Lynn Benjamin

May 28, 2024

All Poems, Gardens, Humor, Pleasure

Gardeners Among Us

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May brings out gardeners among us.

The ones wanting to beautify the neighborhood.

Adding flowers to tiny patches in front of houses.

Petunias, impatiens, geraniums.

Daisies, Persian buttercups, begonias.

May also brings out oglers.

Circulating, admiring the handiwork.

Organization, placement, arrangement.

Mixing, matching, coordinating colors.

Your garden is lovely.

It’s so attractive.

It’s sure to draw bees, birds.

Compliments fly.

Like wrens, sparrows.

Darting back and forth.

I approach a neighbor.

Praising her labors.

She, in turn, points to my garden.

The one my husband, Bob, plants, tends.

Often starting it earlier in the season.

Well, I say, they’re different.

Hers, tidy, orderly in rows.

Ours, abundant, lush, wild.

Bee balm, cone flower stalks.

Towering over smaller blooms.

Every inch of soil covered.

Surrounded by pots of daisies, Peruvian lilies, herbs.

Climbing lavender clematis, about to burst.

A lemon tree now outside.

Having wintered in the garage.

I couldn’t stop myself.

Bringing Bob’s attention to other flower plots.

Disciplined, neat.

He didn’t flinch.

Unoffended, smiling.

Different styles, more variety.

Lots of ways to enchant.

Our garden has character.

Untamed, exuberant.

 

Lynn Benjamin

May 23, 2024

All Poems, Creation, Growth, Humor, Natural Beauty, Pleasure, Seasons

Season for Pollen

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May is the season for pollen.

But, have you ever seen it billow by?

Yellow mist emanating from pine trees?

On gentle spring breezes?

Some finding targets.

Inside female hidden parts.

To fertilize, make seeds.

The rest gilding lawns, streets.

Chairs, tables.

Doors, windows.

Wafting into unsuspecting eyes, noses.

Showers of golden powder.

Leaving telltale patinas everywhere.

But, given the sheer quantity,

some will find a mate.

Shimmy into seductive cones.

Surely propagate.

Standing inside the cloudburst,

bathing in the dust,

arouses amorous excitement

with each puffy gust.

 

Lynn Benjamin

May 22, 2024