Josie Pye's Eyes

But Grandmother, 

What big eyes I have!

A Boy and His Dog

No better friend than a dog

Can be found for a little country boy

She follows up and down

And all around - a special country joy! 

Lie against her while she sleeps

Pet her while she sits in the sun

Chase her. Try to catch her tail.

A happy bit of country fun!

Flowers are Good Medicine

While Mama was sick and lie abed

I brought bright flowers to her and said

"I hope you're better soon and fed,

Tended, mended, and back in good stead."

Shadows

Years of sunlight have

Warmed the rooms

Behind these windows

Played across them

With mottled shadows

Summer, winter, spring, fall

On these stones

Reflected the sky in

Warbled glass

Warmed walls

Years and years of sunlight

Sunlight and shadows

Moonlight and noonlight

Shadows

Seagulls

Birds from the river

Swirl above the parking lot

Landing in the spaces among the cars

Crying out in demanding caws

Without signs they beg for handouts

"Will swoop for food!

Lost our jobs. Please help"

Crape Mrytle

Spiny, spindly

Spiky spray,

Twisting, touching,

Turning twigs,

Sculpted of wood,

Painted in white watercolor

Accented with red-brown

Seed pods. 

Derelict House

Door, who passed through

Over your threshold?

Who went out in the early morning?

A farmer to milk his cow?

Who came home to eat at noon? 

The farmer from his fields?

The children from school?

Door, who latched you at night?

Who lit the oil lamp at the table?

What mother sat after rocking a baby to sleep

Knitting a warm hat, mending clothes, darning stockings?

Door, tell me your stories.

Tell me about your people.

Old Whitewashed Wall

Your bones and frame

Scarred and wrinkled with age,

Your hair, a few wisps of vine,

Your window frames

Eyesight darkened by strain

Where children once peeked out at morning

Watched rain fall  

Snowflakes tumbling

Daffodils blooming yellow in spring sunlight

Now your vision gone

Eyelids closed

Whitewashed wall.

Fence Post Vine

Honeysuckle vine?

Trumpet Creeper?

Where are your leaves?

Where are your blooms?

Where have your hummingbirds gone?

Take your rest.

Take your sleep.

Spring will be here soon enough,

And another busy summer of 

Wild tangled growing.

Berries

All along the fences 

Berries wave in the wind

Brightening the dismal landscape

Like holiday lights.

Little Girl's Games

Little girls

Play the same

No matter where

No matter when

Girls love dolls

Beads for necklaces 

 Bracelets

Baby doll beds

Fuzzy blankets

Little girls play 

Ever the same

Little girl games.

Jalynn

Like a little Blue jay

On the porch swing

She sits and sings

Swings and sings.

Josie Girl

Morning comes

Children are hungry

Happy 

Ready to play

How quickly

The mornings pass

How quickly little girls 

Grow up.

Savor the mornings.

Sunrise

The sun bounces 

Up before 

I am ready to rise.

Shouts in pink!

Red!

Orange!

Yellow!

Shouts:

"Wake up, world!

Wake up!"

Then dances on 

On its way,

On its daily trip

Across the blue.

Ready or not,

Morning comes on.

Petal Pushers

Petal-pushing sunshine

Winter lilies,

You have sipped green

From your stems

To your faces

Like children

Sipping soda 

Through 

Sturdy

Springy straws.

Grandpa

There's no one like the grandpa

The grandpa!

The grandpa!

Noone like the grandpa

The grandpa

Of mine!

Stolen

Stolen glimpse of spring

Mid-winter

Raindrops

After the rain

After the shower

Raindrops drip

Transparent light

From every twig

La Bebe

Pretty little baby

With big brown eyes

Treasure

Treasure

Snow Birds

Meadowlark

Wearing his yellow vest

Stopping to take a rest

In the snow

Tulip Blossom

When she was a tiny girl

Her daddy called her 

"Two-lip Blossom"

She was fresh, bright, new

Soft, pink, precious, like a

Tulip blossom.

Windsinger

bamboo

hoo-hoo

ping-pong 

clink-clunk

rattle-tattle

tink-tonk

clitter-clatter

bamboo

windsong

Sycamore

Sycamore

Reaching to the cold blue sky

Sycamore 

Shedding old bark, growing new

Sycamore

Sturdy, stable, strong

Sycamore

Evergreen

Open at first frost

To empty yourself of

Precious seeds, 

Gifts to the waiting ground

Before rain and snow

Swells and sprouts

New works of art

In spring to grow

Children from the earth

Wooden sculpture of the 

Needle leafed tree.

Blue Jays sing

At the delicious chill

Of your art gallery

Treasure trove.

Passing Fancy

Among the dried and brittle stalks

Of summer's grass and weeds,

A goose down feather flutters; 

Caught in a harsh place

Dances to the wind's music

Dances

Dances

Mullein

Fuzzy furry leaves

Soaking sunlight 

Across the winter pasture

Resting, feeding

Like so many woolly green lambs.

Metal

Rusted curl of metal

Binding wooden bundles

Rough, strong,

Like a weathered statue 

Flexing his arm muscles.

Winter Grass

Dry

Tipsy with seeds

Flying in howling winds

Resting on still cold afternoons

Leaning against

Barbed wire for support 

Waiting out winter.

Comfort Zone

Old dog sleeps

In her favorite porch chair

Snooze and snore

Curled up tight

Cozy and warm in the

Short sun of 

A January afternoon.

Oranges

Spheres of electric sunshine

Filled with golden sweetness

Sweet tartly sweet

Sweet tangy sweet!

Wood

Wood relives as paper bags

Forms flowers of sorts

Brown petals

Filled with pecans

Fruit of other trees

One harvest carrying another