Friday, May 31, 2013

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.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

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.


Wednesday, May 29, 2013

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.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

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.

Monday, May 27, 2013

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.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

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.


Saturday, May 25, 2013

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

Friday, May 24, 2013

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.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

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

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

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.


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

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.

Monday, May 20, 2013

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.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

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



Saturday, May 18, 2013

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. 

Friday, May 17, 2013

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.


Thursday, May 16, 2013

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."

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

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.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Salmon

Ruffled skirts flying
Square dancers go
Circle, square, and do-se-do
Swing your partner,
Don't be slow!



Monday, May 13, 2013

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.




Sunday, May 12, 2013

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!

Saturday, May 11, 2013

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.

Friday, May 10, 2013

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.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

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

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

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.


Tuesday, May 7, 2013

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.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Fog Heron

White heron stalking
the water's edge
Looking for breakfast
As rain replaces fog.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

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. 

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Hillside

Little rise by the pasture gate
Sprouting green grass
Spitting red and yellow blooms
Soaking up sunlight
Singing under a blue sky

Friday, May 3, 2013

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.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

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.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

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?