new year's day a fog drifts in from last year's resolutions

The Bruise of Domestic Violence

halloween costume the donald trump mask made in china

a scarecrow's hair hiding the bruise of domestic violence*




mid-term elections viewers in the crossfire of dueling ads

morning drive a squirrel running in the bike lane

marijuana on the ballot voter turnout will be high

kavanaugh hearings we know he's a *true* beer lover

everywhere I look autumn's facebook page

falling temperatures a caravan of geese heading south


*Eureka, MO, Scarecrow Festival

My Life In A Nutshell

the changing silhouette of the heron and the sycamore

comedy writing my life in a nutshell

end of august I peel the voting sticker off the dashboard

squirrely squirrel quarreling with its shadow

the trumputin merger where does one name end and the other begin

flora borealis the garden moon with its own light show

mixed messages the overdue bills and the travel brochures

hurricane in hawaii worse than trump's summer

another carjacking why can't this be "fake news"

free glitter ripples of gold crossing the pond

spring turbulence the truth is there is no peace

backbone of the world's food supply "rural people" speak a universal language*

_______________

*In reference to statements made by John Kelly, White House chief of staff.


"They're overwhelmingly rural people in the countries they come from--fourth-, fifth-, sixth-grade educations are kind of the norm. They don't speak English...They don't integrate well, they don't have skills, Kelly said."
_______________

There are numerous problems with this attitude. First, it's a slap in the face against immigrants and everyone who lives in a rural area.

Second, opportunities are not equal. Education is not free. Certain groups are denied access to education because of their ethnicity or their income level. Immigrants want better opportunities for their children--opportunities that have been denied them.

And finally, since when is farming not a skill? Since when is hard work and honest labor not a skill? Immigrants do assimilate well, and I would argue that most make efforts to learn English.

xenophobia we are all immigrants from somewhere else

steamed broccoli greener after the water boils into nothing

Option Z

talk of the nobel peace prize before trump's next tweet

crayfish hunting the long shadow of an ozark hellbender*

same branch of cedar the song exchange between a cardinal and robin

overnight magic the new carpet of dandelions

park vending machine my coin rolls into clover

option z I need more letters

poetry slam first the wind, then the barn door

grief journal my last entry between cloudbursts

mushroom sightings the UFOs have landed

unmarked path a lone turkey joins me

home is wherever the groundhog decides to dig


______

Ozark hellbender is an endangered species of salamander

An American Spring

continuing rain the owl hoots anyway

no yellow brick road but the dandelions

sharp words I remove your eggshells from the sink

dirty dishes dirty laundry well at least everything matches

skunks under the porch my deodorant is useless

an american spring today's students are tomorrow's voters

another shooting another round of do-nothing politics

earth day festival my t-shirt glows in the dark

leg squats I'm tired of imagining there's a chair behind me

spring chill the list of flooded bridges I shouldn't be crossing