Elephant Blues

This blue elephant is one of many colourful elephants in the heart of Melbourne.
They celebrate Melbourne Zoo's 150th anniversary.


A blue character
Colouring the streetscape life
Gift from Melbourne Zoo


Linking to:
Blue Monday

Mandela Day

Today
ANTI-apartheid hero
of South Africa 
Nelson Mandela
marks his 
94th birthday
 in "good" spirits 
in his home village of Qunu
with his close family 


Yesterday
67 years in politics
27 years in prison


One Day
Can we spare
67 minutes of one day
To give
At least a thought
A caring thought
To others?
Maybe
Many others?


I have spent nearly
27 minutes
Shaping
The clay in this post


Sighhhhhhh


Mandela was born on July 18, 1918  in Mvezo village southeastern South Africa.
His great-grandfather was a Thembu king.
His father was a counsellor to the Thembu royal family.

But his family lives in a thatched hut
And raises livestock.

But his father dies when Nelson is nine
And he becomes a ward of the royal household.


When winds of change blow
They may gust for a time
Till the next season


*27 minutes
Your time is now 
UP



Makhalima reads a book to an elderly woman in Qunu...Lutho Makhalima (R) reads a book to Nobantu Mbhokodi, an elderly woman, in Qunu, eastern cape, July 18, 2012. South Africans celebrated former president Nelson Mandela's 94th birthday on Wednesday with special events and charity work in what has become known as "Mandela Day".The former leader's birthday is used for a campaign that aims to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better by asking people to give 67 minutes of their time painting schools, planting trees, visiting orphanages and old age homes to honour Mandela's 67 years of political activism.
REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Linking to:
Real Toads Anniversary post ~ Bonus Open Link

A Monk's Tale

One summer as dawn broke the night's faint chill, 
I greeted my cell with hesitant eyes. 
No coffee today before minds are still 
And souls appreciate prayerful skies. 
Could yesterday's peak hour be a far guise? 
So here I am tasting a monk's pure sight, 
Wondering if I can live in new dyes; 
If my darkest past can suffer new light.


Inspired by:
With Britain becoming an increasingly secular society, the number of people devoting themselves to the monastic life has been in freefall. But now several monasteries and convents are fighting against the trend by offering taster weekends in the hope of bringing fresh members into the fold.
- A monk's life...but just until Monday ~ BBC News ~ Saturday 10.2.09

NOTE - This is my first attempt at a Huitain.
It is a poem in a single Ballade stanza.
The verse form was most popular in the 16th century and was often used for epigrams in the 18th century. One source suggests the Huitain may have begun in Spain.
 The basic layout is:
Line length: 8 (French) or 10 (English) syllables
 Rhyme scheme: ababbcbc
Number of lines: 8

Linking to:
Real Toads ~ A Mini-Challenge for Sunday ~ A Monk's Tale ~ Huitain form
dVerse ~ Open Link Night ~ Anniversary Week