Cardinal

Everyone loves a redbird with his 

Peaked cap and beaded eyes.

Cardinal sits on the trellis;

He thinks he hides in his black face

But his scarlet feathers glow bright

Even among the red roses, we

See him hop on thorny stems

Where he and his lack-luster bride

Have built a nest for spotted eggs

To hatch crimson fledglings.

Ignorance is Bliss

Contented cow, quiet 

In the greening pasture grass

Lounges under a shade tree

Unconcerned with milk bottles,

Butter, or beef steaks. 

Green grass and summer 
Are here and now.

Spinning

In the pasture

Little girls with bright faces and

Outstretched arms, skirts spinning like pinwheels,

Run and play

In sunlight and breeze.

Waves

Splash of sunlight 

On white and green

An artist's afternoon dream.

With sleepy eyes, sleepy mind,

Contemplating flowers like stars

Of heaven in number,

Like children of Abraham,

Like grains of sand,

Waves of grass 

Lapping, lapping

 Gently

On the meadow's shore.

Magnolia

On a stage of wax—billowing

Ivory curtains open to the blue sky

A dancer in a red skirt

Pirouettes under her

Waves of satin hair

Behind, under, and all around 

Twirl more dancers in sleek 

Shiny green costumes

Still, she is the star of 

This spectacular show.

White Roses

Summer has come

June is here, no more wait

When the white roses

Bloom by the garden gate.

Edges are pink

Centers, honey bee bait

When the roses bloom

By the garden gate.

Sandbox Days

Summer days of sunshine

Under the sycamore tree

Digging in the sandbox

Innocent and free

Big brown eyes, curly head

Not too hard to see

You're a treasure, yes you are

Especially to me.

White Lace

All along the roadside

Dancing in the breeze

Queen Anne's Lace

Noding heads of white caps

Swaying by the stream

Queen Anne's Lace

Flutter- By

Flutter by, butterfly,

Don't zip or zing

Float on the breezes;

Don't bite or sting

Flutter by, butterfly 

Song of the spring

Sit on a wildflower,

Make my heart sing.

Prairie primroses

Primroses fragile and soft

Flutter in the spring breeze

Swallow sunshine

From the blue sky 

Collected in pink vellum cups,

Sip liquid life up stems 

Like green soda straws 

From the fresh soil

Trust

Eyes still closed and blind

Helpless, hopeless, except

For a parent's tender care

Guarding, feeding, staying near.

They wait— these five hungry babies

Wait, wait, for each movement above

For their needs to be met, trust
Wait, trust, wait, trust.

Orchid

From another world

From jungle trees where

Mist and sudden drenching rains

Water your bare roots

Sending waxen cascades of color

Spotted, speckled, 

Reaching to the ground.

Grey Horizon

Where ocean stops 

And sky starts

I cannot tell, but

Know they never 

Touch and 

Always touch

Sky to water

Water to sky

Blue on blue

Of the same stuff.

No Bananas Today

Banana palm,

Your fruit is so green!

I haven't seen 

Any so green anywhere

Except in our local grocery store

Under the 

"Golden Ripe Bananas" 

Sign

Cactus Flower

Bright enough to be seen 

Across miles of hot sand

And stone—amid desert sage, 

Grays and barely greens.

Where pale blues and dusty browns,

Rule the day, 

Cactus blooms glorious

In pinks, reds, white, yellows

Like hundreds of

Bright breathtaking gems. 

A River

A river flows through the canyon gorge

Looking narrow and slow-moving

A river known for rapids, violent and unpredictable

A river—the Colorado—only a remnant of its once

Unstoppable self, rushing, rushing flood waters to the sea

Carving, eroding, measuring immense miles of rock.

Time Warp

Marred by time and weather

Piece of the past sits still in the sun 

Dreaming of the day when she came

Rolling out of a factory In Detroit

Rolled about town awhile then headed west

Down dusty roads where no wipers 

Were needed for raindrops, only for dust

Only shade her tin roof, where her radiator 

Overheated on the mountain roads

The old timer was quoted as saying,

"The wild west cracks me up."

Nasturtium

Like flocks of 

Bright butterflies

Petals fluttering in the wind 

Like wings

Soft and sweet and full of light,

Orange nasturtiums 

Rival the colors of

Maple leaves of Maine 

In September.

Salmon

Ruffled skirts flying

Square dancers go

Circle, square, and do-se-do

Swing your partner,

Don't be slow!

Water Lily

Sun-full flower spring 

Open like a Jack-in-a-box!

Show us your true colors

Your bowl of bright sunrays

Bursting from pink and white petals

Served on leathery green plates,

Landing pads for bejeweled dragonflies

Hiding turtle's backs,

Harboring frogs in your folds 

Concealing silvery fish in 

Shadowy waters beneath.

Fiddler

Mustachioed fiddler

Your rackish hair belies

The solemn music you

Pull from your fiddle's hollow;

Are you playing Bach, 

Braum, Beethoven?

But, I spy your wisp of grin

Cut loose, now!

Give us a toe-tappin' mountain

 Music memory!

Peponi

Laughing bird,

You need your feathers 

Washed and combed

Do you care? 

No, you laugh at the wide sky 

At the lesser birds—

The measly cardinal, 

The lowly Scrub Jay,

You laugh.

Palaces

Spiders are in king's palaces

Says the Bible. Who are we?

We build fancy houses;

We think we are great.

We are so grand!

Yet who has such fine 

Housing as these creatures?

They lounge on ivory pillowed beds

All day as clean mountain air

Sweeps through art deco walls

At night the moon beams through 

Gossamer ceilings

The whole perfumed with

Scent designed by God.

Morning Music

Morning music

Song of muskmelon

Trumpet sweet as 

Honeysuckle along a Texas fence

Buzzing alive with bees

Humming with hummingbirds

Soft satin skirt of

Time-sensitive silk

Lilting in fluted grace at noon

Clamped tightly closed by evening

Purple Blossom

Ice skaters swirl and twirl,

Glide and slide to the music's

Beat and rhythm. Sparkle —

Spin in spangled costumes

On thin gray-white ice — Dream

Applause... Take a bow.

Late Bloomer

Pecan trees last to leaf out

In the spring, break bud, 

Spread thin twiggy branches

Toward the bluing sky.

One day those mighty limbs 

Will form arches over shaded lanes.

Fog Heron

White heron stalking

the water's edge

Looking for breakfast

As rain replaces fog.

Fistful

Fistful of wildflowers

Gathered on a bright airy day

I will keep you as many days

As I can in vases on the breakfast table

And on my windowsill.

You paint the pasture and roadsides.

You paint my heart colors of happiness. 

Hillside

Little rise by the pasture gate

Sprouting green grass

Spitting red and yellow blooms

Soaking up sunlight

Singing under a blue sky

Changing Colors

Rest by the pasture gate

In new dappled shade,

Green on your flanks from rolling,

Green on your muzzle from feasting

The whole world is turning 
Green; you appear to be following suit.

Paintbrushes

Stems like handles,

Blooms like feathery brushes

Dipped in orangey-red,

Paintbrushes fill the pasture

With bright patches of color

Like liquid scarves of bright

Oriental silk.

Dancer

Sing for spring 

Dance for joy

God has blessed again

Fed our hungry souls

With pristine beauty

If flowers dance 

And birds sing

Shouldn't I praise too?