The big dry sycamore leaves
Rattle gently in the breeze
Takes me away to a mountain spring
Washing over the stones before the winter’s freezing.
Cold still, moving still.
Her Mace seed-pod ready
To pelt someone’s back or really
Break up down your sister’s shirt
The itch bomb makes you take a Shower.
Mighty and tall the Sycamore
With broad leaves and a broad stance
An Autumn beauty who loves the dance.
You can die
Of a broken heart!
It’s well documented.
And when you lose something
Dear to you…
You understand, you feel it
In your chest
Crushing
I lost a friend today, and
I’ve said goodbye to pets before.
(A number of cats including Riley & Jade
A few chickens including Happy & Perey
And of course Cleo’s friend Kato.)
but…
This was Cleopatra
Princess of the Desert,
Majestic Tiger Stripes
On soft, long mane.
One Bold Blue Eye
One of Cinnamon,
Eventually clouded orbs
Blinded by the Diabetes
That made her insulin-dependent
As she defied the odds.
Her broad shoulders
And thick skull from the
Bull Mastiff, should have
Made her life much shorter.
But, when you are so truly loved
You go on for so much longer
Than you should have even tried.
You, so loyal, you just
Stayed right by my side.
My first real business partner
And shift manager.
She led our house of muts
And herded all the chickens.
She protected our children
And gave them so many walks.
She ruined 3 of our lawns
1 from running as a puppy
2 for I don’t know why
I kept tryin’, maybe
Because of all the fun
She had playin’, rollin’ & fetchin’.
“Man’s” (Mom’s) Best Friend is not enough.
Your friends may come and go, but
Your dog is always next to you
And their love for you they always show.
RIP 2008-2022
Wasp
Wasp
Hornet
Hornet
Always
Gets
A bad
Rap
Beautiful
Elegant
His flight
A Dance
Warrior
Venemous
His sting
A lance
To protect
Or invade
He carries
A blade
And has
Sworn
Service to
The Queen
Noble
Powerful
Credible
Threat
Black
Black
Bumble
Bee
Matte and
Chrome
Ready to
Race
Yet slow
And deliberate
Collecting
Pollen trace
Shine
And fur
A Drone
Busy
Shovel, Shovel
Long and Lean
“Why in the ground of The Garden
Are you buried?”
“To keep The Puppy
From digging up Pere*.
I must dig in and guard the grave
As the Morning Glories climb up
And the Sunflowers bloom above.
I must stand vigil
Until the worms are through
And then I can go back to being
A shovel too…”
*Peregrine was our oldest chicken
Two Hawks
Crisscrossed
Above my Head
Little Robin
Giving chase
Screaming with dread!
“Why is it
You are crying
My darling little hen?”
“THE FALCONS TOOK
MY SLEEPING CHICK RIGHT
OUT OF OUR LITTLE DEN!”
The placid calm
of an abandoned hillside
now made resident
by my soft side
I have taken up these rolling hills as my cape
I drape it over my shoulders
to warm my spirit
against a cold dark world
that has sent me into the wilderness
to remember my origin story
to bathe in the forest air…
to watch the golden light set
fire to the pond which sears the
sun into my eyes emblazoning
the path to eternity
into my soul and kisses
me with hope that the darkness
can be killed by the light and
make the dark whole and holy
instead of dangerous and vicious
it’s delicious to consume
the sweet love of my family
as we spend some time in the woods
Cold winds they whipped as
Winter wished to return today
And brought her chill that will
Not be allowed to stay
No, Summer’s right behind her
Pushing Spring to keep it short
Hot days will come tomorrow
To give Winter her retort.
But Today Winter wanted
To make known that she’s not through
And today she plans to punish
Flowers who dared bloom too soon.
I am running out of words to say
For how much I Love You everyday
The words themselves are not enough
Because, “I Love You” is never the stuff
That makes a play or poem come alive
To tell the tale of how a love survives
The roughest seas of a love affair
Shared over time through triumph and despair
No. More must be said about how a life
Becomes another’s like the Husband and Wife
Where all is shared among the mundane and plain
When the boring days all turn into the same
How tragedy and pain effects them both
How together, the pair are more able to cope.
Saying, “I Love You” can never explain
How much you mean to me, so I say it again
I Love You
and again
I Love You
and again
I Love You
and again
I LOVE YOU!
The seasons are changing
The frost is coming
To bring its crystal blanket
And cover the ground with winter
Turning everything brown and
Changing summer’s growth
Into next spring’s compost
It looks as though
It is laying waste
Desolating everything in its path
But with every cycle
Destruction breeds creation
We must not despair
For a withered stalk
Makes food for the next
Wiley buds
Of spring