words for rain

drought running out of words for rain
new dryer a song for each cycle
wrapping paper I error on the side of paper cuts
sore throat even silence is painful
the creaking floor mimics my voice
romance by now he's drunk and dancing with himself
the silhouette of horses without names
punch happy sleep eludes me
earlier today you were later than usual
crickets in winter there is no winter
a family reunion on a christmas card
train clackings I imagine myself away from here

Warm November

trumpeter swans close enough to hear their wingbeats

your lies eating up my phone minutes

pink clouds drift into the unspokenness

winter doldrums two pregnant women compare bellies

heron pond the sandhill cranes elude us

warm november in the wrong hemisphere

the plane takes off full of baggage and empty promises

new path I carry your leaves with me

the scent of you in the pines...


summer light a few candles away from winter

the rain I'd hoped for falling on you instead of me

shrimp tails the best part of the conversation

wordless evenings the brim of your hat coated with dust

bald cypress I could use another set of knees

fork in the road we become separated from our dreams

light-headed the scent of you in the pines

birthday surprise not knowing you'd remember

if opposites attract then we're soulmates

oppressive heat the catalpa leaves retain their coolness

white house insecurity--know that you will soon be fired

affordable care standoff the GOP can't find a better plan*

cactus acupuncture sticking me without a license

*Inspired by the Pearl Jam song, "Better Man." 

reopened quarry the dust under new ownership

Eleven Lines For Those Who Are Counting

  1. unknown throughout the universe my new address
  2. mother nature makes it clear I own nothing
  3. lit streets after the storm there are still fireflies
  4. political speech so many words multiplied by zero
  5. two jobs to learn I must unlearn
  6. healthcare reform the misshapen leaf of a sycamore
  7. pondface today belongs to the herons
  8. saturday morning fog slowing down the productivity
  9. deer crossing if only the opossum kept moving
10. a necessary stop. . .I brake for turtles
11. turkey family leaving the cornfield for other uncertainties

unwanted detour the cat hurries past the fireworks tent

cloudy morning the garbled song of a distant cardinal

mom's quilt holding up better than I am

Happy Mother's Day to all!

receding water the irises grow taller

problems have more arrivals than departures

coughing jag well at least I'm not crying

Backed up to Eternity

depression every possibility becomes impossible

wrong way sign state of the union on a divided highway

unflooded roads backed up to eternity

wing extensions for vultures drenched in sunshine

a tumble-down boulder the limestone de-stressing itself

dead ends I get to see everything in reverse

spring twilight closure is a wound that re-opens somewhere else

a sense of foreboding in the bent spine of a battered oak

mapping out my journey the restless june bugs* ready for flight

*also called may beetles

st. patrick's day the spring of a rabbit before the grass turns green

pi day irrationality has become our 51st state

microwave cameras secretly filming my leftovers

Thanks to Kellyanne Conway for the very latest updates in spyware technology.

reading fixtion* eye weary of undelivered promises

*a one-word play on fiction

march snow you refuse to give up your short sleeve t-shirt

Everything We Drink

heron chooses the willow end of the pond

good times ripple around the canoe

cattail currency paying off the red-winged blackbirds

rights of passage the thorn bush draws blood

an acorn cap surrounded by moss

envisioning the GOP healthcare plan don't you dare get sick

polluted rivers everything we drink becomes part of us

tweet to tweet the chickadees long before twitter

One More Dream That Never Happened

torn jeans and patches of blue unraveling

blinded by rows of white grave markers

blood red stones sometimes the road fills my shoes

too soon to bloom the magnolias slip into global warming

wake-up call the rocks are alive with garter snakes

hardscrabble landscape I'm drawn in by desolation

bricks in disarray one more dream that never happened

president's day there's nothing to celebrate

false spring the real fake news happened in bowling green and sweden

Sweden update: Riots broke out in Sweden a day after Trump's comments. I'm guessing he's feeling pretty smug about this turn of events.

february warm up only the fog retains its coolness

water-stained books and other things I shouldn't keep

ripples of conversation left by the heron

torn curtains the new normal of chaos and disrepair

a lonely winter taken up by a family of orchids*

*orchid show at the Missouri Botanical Garden

valentine's day time to reflect on those I've loved and those I've lost

bumps in cyberspace the tricky 2's* adding (to, too, two) trump's legacy

*trump poster

"...no challenge is to great"

parking lot tweet a killdeer scolding imaginary foes

spring cleaning legislation to weaken the unions and make america poor again

70 degrees after a snow moon in february

lunar eclipse the pond mirrors both the light and the darkness

raucous cawcus the crows will not be censored

drowning in my sleep

time capsule the fish you caught five years ago still frozen

drowning in my sleep the rain never stops
undated photo the smoke of another birthday                                  
storm damaged flamingos turning white
flash of lightning you came home to die
warm tea ending the day better than it started

towel dried hair turning into something I can't control

rattling around every window sleepless thunderstorms

the harsh light reveals a wall of crumbling bricks and mortar

super bowl steam rising from a bowl of chili

condo searching realtor suggests blinds to block the view of the gas station

ready for change the green ice melting on the pond

groundhog day overshadowed by politics

bigly cold social media jokes but I'm not laughing

Poverty and Poetry

my march hare madness saner than your acceptance

turtle's lost shell the fragility of exposure

don't tell me I'm this when I'm that

the burden of more worlds stooping my shoulders

subtraction politics don't complain just deal with it

spring promises for winter grass and dead leaves

poverty and poetry if you don't see it it doesn't exist

time doesn't heal and I'm not okay with it

oil exploration and exploitation enough fuel to fire the world

winter again a pistory of past anger resurfacing

linkless now a sense of freedom and regret

my own two feet the steps that will carry me

"hidden figures" recognition for women long overdue

The Niceties

the pen with more possibilities than I have words to describe it 
day of sunshine except for the shadows
inauguration let's do this with our eyes closed
bluer by the moments we keep hidden from others
dual citizenship stamped from somewhere to nowhere
the falsities the same as the niceties
when you put it that way don't expect me to believe in you 
woodpile stacked only to be unstacked
blame me if it makes you feel taller

This Counts As Exercise

rushing around my to-do list with no time to breathe

birdsong lifting the ice

tapping my foot this counts as exercise

fake news everything that's not complimentary

a nonstop headache for the next four years

false stream or raging river the alleged "p" tapes

icicles crashing after balancing my checkbook

mlk's birthday let the march continue

lost again following my muse

I still talk to you knowing you can't answer

this heavy burden cedars weighted down by ice