The Poets Pub opens again at 3:00 PM EST after a break. Grace is the prompter for Quadrille Monday. A Quadrille is a short poem consisting of exactly 44 words, not including the title. The prompt word for our Quadrilles today is “flicker”. Come join us and read these wonderful poems. Today is also the SIXTH ANNIVERSARY of dVerse. The drinks are on me! https://dversepoets.com/2017/07/17/happy-6th-anniversary-quadrille-36/
Dance
I heard the cicadas for the first time
tonight –sawing scraping –
moonlight dapples the trees with silver –
fireflies in the darkness –
a flickering dance
On off on off
stars in the black sky
flicker in return
on off on off
eternal dance
public domain photo
kanzen sakura 
Jul 17, 2017 @ 14:53:02
Savoring the descriptions in this, Toni, that play so well with the flicker theme. Very visual. I wish we had fireflies here. So special.
Jul 17, 2017 @ 14:57:55
Yes they are. to this day, I still capture a few and put into a large jar with a screen top for a nightlight by my bed, complete with some blades of grass. I always rise early to release them back into their natural habitat and thank them for lighting my dreams.
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:05:30
Gorgeous imagery in these lines Toni:
moonlight dapples the trees with silver –
fireflies in the darkness –
Thank you for being part of our journey~
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:06:05
Thank you for letting me come along!
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:14:42
I wish we had cicadas over here – I’ve only ever really heard them in Italy. Gorgeous, Toni!
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:17:58
They are a sound I associate with my childhood, when I couldn’t sleep, slipping out of bed to read by the window by moonlight. Listening to the silence except for the cicadas.
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:18:19
Sounds wonderful…
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:20:21
It was wonderful. I still can’t sleep well at night but being an adult, I can go into another room and read! but with the window open so I can hear the cicadas.
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:16:12
I love the flickering dance of the fireflies and ‘moonlight dapples the trees with silver’ – a real beauty Toni xxx
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:16:50
Thank you Xenia. Love to Pearl and Eivor! Good to see you!
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:17:53
Good to see you too Toni and Eivor and Pearl send their love xxx
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:20:35
xxxxxx
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:17:39
The conversation of flickers between the fireflies and stars is brilliantly done. Love this! …wait…did you say the drinks are on you? Pass that wine list over here – let’s go for the good stuff! 🙂
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:18:33
Yeppers. A magnum of Dom Perignon….
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:21:46
A dance of lights. Beautiful. 10 year-old tawny port… unless there’s 20 year behind the bar.
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:27:22
We have Graham’s 20 and 40 year old port under the bar, along with my sake. Tell Grace which one you want and she will gladly pour for you!
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:29:16
I appreciate that! I’ll hold off on the sake until we have a ceremonial sip.
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:30:59
I’m always having ceremonial sips. That way I don’t fall on my butt from drinking too much!
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:55:37
Haha! A reason to carry a walking stick. Looks dignified. Maybe two of them.
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:24:04
“I heard the cicadas for the first time
tonight –sawing scraping –
moonlight dapples the trees with silver –”
My goodness, that is gorgeous.
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:26:36
Thank you.
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:40:08
what a beautiful dance – and what a beautiful dance in your words as well
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:40:39
Thank you Claudia. Good to see you here!
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:54:25
Nice comparison of the sound of the cicadas and the stars both viewed as flickering.
Jul 17, 2017 @ 15:56:59
I remember that sound… but here it’s si different.
Jul 17, 2017 @ 16:05:30
The word ‘cicada’ alone conjures up memories of Mediterranean holidays, summer nights throbbing with insects; Thank you!
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:13:25
And nights in the deep south and in Japan. I love the cicadas.
Jul 19, 2017 @ 04:05:02
The sound goes with the scent of pines.
Jul 19, 2017 @ 12:33:12
and with the scent of honeysuckle and magnolias. A most heady blend!
Jul 19, 2017 @ 12:44:25
Sounds exotic! For me the sound is strictly Mediterranean so mainly pines 🙂
Jul 19, 2017 @ 12:50:11
We have pines of several kinds here in the south but I do not think as fragrant while in their living state as the pines of the Mediterranean. But after they are cut, the fragrance flows, as if they are bleeding their aroma.
Jul 19, 2017 @ 12:53:29
It’s probably a question of climate. The sea isn’t like the ocean—the heat is dry and all the plants seem to be aromatic; like rosemary, thyme, origano, lavender, the kind of plant with an oil that is released when the leaf is brushed or broken. I love those smells.
Jul 19, 2017 @ 13:01:03
I have all those plants in my kitchen garden – love the scents when you run your hands over them and then smell your hands.
Jul 19, 2017 @ 13:34:23
When they get hot and you walk on them, the smell fills the air. Nature is wonderful 🙂
Jul 17, 2017 @ 16:25:33
Beautiful and oh how I miss the cicadas. XXX
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:12:23
I would miss them too. 🙂
Jul 17, 2017 @ 16:26:38
When I was a child, we used to catch fireflies in the evening and keep them in Mason jars. My Oregonian son-in-law had never seen a firefly and was completely mesmerized when he first visited. Your poem conjured pleasant memories. Thank you!
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:12:00
Glad I could do that for you. If you read my response to Victoria, you will discover I still do that!
Jul 17, 2017 @ 16:49:28
Beautiful imagery of an eternal dance.
Of your response to Victoria: How wonderful this must be – a living night light!
Anna :o]
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:11:27
Oh they are wonderful things, blinking onoff all through the night. I often wake just to watch them. They do make one smile.
Jul 17, 2017 @ 17:01:54
Oh, gorgeous. The dance of the fireflies and the stars, echoing each other. I have only seen fireflies a few times – this reminded me of warm nights in exotic places. Thank you so much.
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:10:35
You are so welcome Sarah. And thank you for reading!
Jul 17, 2017 @ 17:04:52
This is soo dreamy!!❤️ “a flickering dance on off on off stars in the black sky” …*swooooon*❤️
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:10:10
❤
Jul 17, 2017 @ 17:23:45
Nice! Great sensory experience in the opening two lines.
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:09:53
Thank you!
Jul 17, 2017 @ 17:26:33
I love this line: moonlight dapples the trees with silver. Beautiful post!
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:09:40
Thank you!
Jul 17, 2017 @ 17:50:27
Ah .. nature at night. Beautifully captured.
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:08:28
Thank you!
Jul 17, 2017 @ 19:46:11
I remember you talking about how you would capture a few fireflies in a jar and keep them by your bed at night…so sweet, very endearing…as is your poem. xo
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:08:16
Yes, you would remember that detail! in the morning the little critters are asleep so I just go outside in the early morning and dump them out into the bushes. They wake up then and start crawling over the leaves!
Jul 17, 2017 @ 19:58:09
Beautiful imagery of nature.
Jul 17, 2017 @ 21:07:51
I love the fireflies dance. We don’t see them often here. We went to an amphitheater to see a play at night a while back and watched them perform for almost the entire first half. They are so inspiring
Jul 17, 2017 @ 21:21:45
Yes they are
Jul 18, 2017 @ 00:14:17
Beautiful description of this scene.
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:06:19
Thank you!
Jul 18, 2017 @ 00:46:36
Love this expansion of flicker from fireflies to the star…Beautiful.
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:06:09
Thank you!
Jul 18, 2017 @ 02:12:54
Beautiful imagery. I love “moonlight dapples the trees with silver” and the fireflies and stars flickering. We used to see fireflies at night quite a bit, not so much anymore.
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:05:47
That’s a shame about not seeing them much. We still have them like crazy down here in the country!
Jul 18, 2017 @ 04:13:29
A very delightful read and imagery, Toni. 🙂
Jul 18, 2017 @ 08:47:51
LOVE how you captured their flickering dance!
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:05:10
Thank you Lynn 🙂
Jul 18, 2017 @ 09:28:51
Oh it is so wonderful to see you back at dVerse, Toni. I LOVE this post. One thing I dearly miss about our time living in Iowa — the fireflies! So I truly enjoyed your beautiful descriptive poem this morning. But, I must say, I do not miss the Cicadas or June bugs that used to hang out on our porch screens!!! 🙂
Beautifully penned, as always.
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:04:50
Oh those June bugs….destructive critters but they provide food for the birds! I’ve never lived anyplace that did not have the fireflies. It must make the night seem lonely sometimes.
Jul 18, 2017 @ 11:07:22
Amazing creatures..have never seen one…starlike and starlight.:-)
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:03:40
They do flicker with a lime green light. Lovely things
Jul 18, 2017 @ 15:50:25
the openihg sounds are a joyous prelude – great to see your poetry flickering into life after the break
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:03:06
I was on a much longer break due to the death of my mother. So it is doubly good to be back and posting and reading!
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:45:57
So sorry to hear this The fireflies have even greater significance then in lighting your recent dark times –
Jul 18, 2017 @ 18:14:31
Yes they do. Thank you.
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:10:49
Oh, this is lovely! We don’t have fireflies here, but I’ve seen them in other places. Now, cicadas we do have, and I actually like hearing them! Your poem sets a wonderful mood. 🙂
Jul 18, 2017 @ 17:16:28
Thank you. I love the sound of the cicadas at night. It is a sound from my childhood.
Jul 20, 2017 @ 02:22:41
What a lovely picture you’ve drawn, Kanzen. Love the cicadas saw scraping. Perfect!
Jul 20, 2017 @ 13:36:21
Thank you!
Jul 20, 2017 @ 03:19:22
A beautiful light poem with such a vivid description of nature’s dance.
Jul 20, 2017 @ 13:36:06
thank you!
Jul 20, 2017 @ 19:42:18
Fireflies and stars. A lovely descriptive poem, Toni.
Jul 20, 2017 @ 23:54:48
Thank you!