faith

a moment before landing

the bird tucks in

to fly without wings

Bittersweet and Brambles

Bittersweet and brambles:

scrambled, tangled -

preferable to pass by

this hedge mess

to look for something

more beautiful

but

look . . .



how the bittersweet

smooth and sinuous

gently coils

round the brambles

and rests between

their shard sharp

thorns



so stands through winter snows

avoids the trampling feet

of hungry deer

preferring to pass by

tangled and scrambled

bittersweet and brambles.

Interrupted

Last year's verses

didn't make it past the previews

seven lines

split awkwardly between

two verses

neither mad enough for March



interrupted

by

station identification

a message from our sponsors

this is a test of the national emergency system if this was a real test you are probably not listening anymore anyone anyhow

all of the above very LOUD



not good for the inwardly driven

veering off the road of verse

uncontrollably

confronted

by life

stumbling

into the brambles

of

words

thoughts

tangled

twisted

verses

interrupted



get up

dust off

try again

Page Not Found

not archived

innumerable

virtual pages

created

abandoned

left to drift

as

pix

e

l

s

like those

satellites

circling earth

till they crumble

into meaningless

bits

bytes

forgotten

by the

decided-to-go-live-real-lives

with no time left

to

s

a

v

e

.

.

.

Poetry Month 2019

poised for poetry

to stick its head out

from under the soft covers of winter

to taste the sweet air of Spring,

to listen if geese have announced,

to watch for early rising robins,

to smell bears tumbling from dens,

to touch words to paper

poised for poetry

Orion Rising

Orion has tracked

the heavy scent and

muddy steps of summer

through its steamy days,

blinding rains, and

days of dense fog.

He stands poised

at the edge of autumn

and peers

into its dark cave

filled with glittering stars.

Orion rises

and glances over his shoulder . . .

is that the icy breath of winter?

After the Storm

A frenzy of footprints

speckles the snow.

Sharks have nothing on

hungry squirrels.

National Poetry Month is less than a month away, and so is the NaPoWriMo challenge to write a poem every day in April! I will get warmed up this chilly month with a few poems and then on to the real deal starting April 1. Here is the link to the challenge, which I'll post again. If you want to try the challenge yourself, it's free and easy, no strings attached:

NaPoWriMo

March Nor'easter

dark, straight wind slicing

rain soaked squirrels feeding fast

warblers wedged between

Feeder Frenzy

chickadees are daring



alert

looking left and right

and right and left and right

before crossing

to capture sunflower kernals

protected by two gray

bears of squirrels

while larger coward birds

cower



chickadees are daring



trail blazers

clearing the way

for tuxedoed juncos

and two timid winter-toned

goldless finches and

the shiest of all

hollyberry red cardinals

who still choose the further

feeder



the chickadees are daring

A Slap in the Face

Two feet of snow

and cold

after meteorological spring

alluringly

warmed the dark garden

stirred the striped chipmunks

sun-tinted the goldfinches

browned the rabbits' winter coats

leaving the hawk

huddled on a pine branch

and doves numbed

below the feeder

It's in the Air

The air has been stirred

and shaken:

in tepid, chilled, sun-spun confusion.

Leaves stagger from their branch tips,

dance,

and skitter across the lawn.

Sprinting uphill, turkeys slant

through a mushroom metropolis

built in a day beneath the trees.

The restless fowl nestle into

their evergreen roosts

and bark the hours

to one another

from the dark of this

wind-warmed night.