Slinky and Me

Out on the porch in the late summer sun,

My Slinky and me have plenty of fun.

His stretches tall; I stretch on my toes

What this linky Slinky does nobody knows 

It's upsy, downsy, woundsy, round

Fun—the best fun that I have found!

Wonderful Silly Me!

This is how I feel today; I just want to act all silly

Run around and ham it up—goofy and willy-nilly

I can google my face from side to side,

Sick out my tongue and cross my eyes. 

My sister poses as sweet as can be, but

The most hilarious one to see—is wonderful silly me!

Curiosity

My eyes dart here and there—I don't miss much

My little nose sniffs every smell—food, flowers and such.

My ears are listening to mix-and-match of mingled voices

Laughing, calling, speaking, singing—happy noises.

My fragile skin feels sunshine and the breeze across my face

My finger's touch the world—testing—learning every space.

I taste my world—taste good and bad—taste sour and sweet

My curiosity's alive. I find my world a wondrous treat!

Unexpected

Crocus arrives smartly in January.

Daffodils dot the hills in February.
Hyacinths struggle through to March.

Tulips pop out of nowhere in April.

Lilacs and azaleas parade gloriously in May.

Roses take their time in June.
Hydrangeas make the scene in July.

Sunflowers decorate August.

Goldenrod joins the party in September.

Sugar maples show their colors in October.

Chrysanthemums reign in November.

Poinsettias brighten December.

Mushrooms sprout overnight. 

Startle us with their appearance

Unexpected—

Unannounced.

Sostenuto

Sostenuto

Synchronous splashing surf

Surging, swelling,

Sweeping sparkling sands,

Setting slippery seaweeds

Stircrazy,

Stenciling smooth 

Silver-spangled shoreline, 

Streaked, striated, stippled.

Symphonic swells

Swirling, swooshing, shouting saltwater;

Strewing strandline with sticks, 

Silt. Stowing sand-dollars, 

Spiny starfish, smoothed stones,

Stranded shell shards; 

Stitching silent shorefront to 

Sapphire sea.

Cyclamen

With leaves like hearts, 
Why are you not hardy?

Your edges are serrated, but you just aren't cut

Out for life in a busy place.

Are you confused? You bloom upside down,

Inside out. You faint like a Victorian lady

Wanting attention—smelling salts.

A sip of cool water revives you,

Too much water and your leaves 

Turn jaundice yellow and fold up. 
You whine too much.

Maybe it's a fragile beauty thing; 
For few summer

Blooms or painted butterfly wings
Can rival you.

Wildflower

On the livingroom table, glass

Canning jars spouted

Lavender and yellow wildflowers

From the south pasture.

She noticed the purple patch from

Her porch door where

They had called for her to come 

Outside and walk—watch

Hawks wheel in the summer sky.

Welcoming Committee

The flowerbed by the front walk

Doesn't need to speak or talk

Waving flowers like flags or pennants

It greets us in the foremost minutes

"Say, I'm glad you're here today. 

Come on in. We hope you'll stay 

 For tea."

Loaves

Staff of life

Yeast and wheat

Crusty and hot

From the oven door

All the world over

Bread—hot with butter,

Honey, fruit jams, cheeses,

Comes to tables

Nourishes life 

Message to Mama

Tell her that I love her;

Whisper that I miss her.

Tell I am praying. 

Tell her she's my friend.

Tell her that I love her; 

Tell her to get well soon.

Whisper that she's special;

Tell her that I care.

Tell her that I love her,

Little vase of roses;

Can you take the message?

Say I'll soon be there.

Melon Time

A grand dessert come summertime

Fresh ripe melons from the vine.

Sweet and cold and oh so fine,

Cantaloupe and watermelon cut from the rind.

Melody

Like a spontaneous song,

Bursts of blossom

Brighten the room
Like fireworks 

Like a praise of celebration

At a much-wanted baby's birth!

La-la-la-la-la-la...

Sunflower Song

Sing butter-bright circle of life,

    Sing in the summer's heated noon-light,

        Sing of the green grass, the oak tree's leaves,

             Sing of the blue sky—snow white clouds fly overhead,

           Sing 'till the moon comes up and we are all asleep in bed.

                

Peach Juice

Take a deep breath

Smell them? Ripe

Peaches fresh from the branches

Succulent sweet drips 

Dribble down my chin,

Drips and dribbles like honey.

Laugh at me, will you?

I don't mind in the least

Peaches are too fine a treat to miss.

On the Cob

Ready to be peeled like green 

Bananas, kernels of yellow inside.

Pluck those ears from the stalks

Run to the house—shuck those ears on the way

Plunk them into a pot of boiling water

Take them steaming onto your plate

Oh, who needs a plate?

Slather with melty yellow butter

Sprinkle with salt 

Eat it hot.....too hot to hold

So good ....... so sweet corn.

Moon Shine

Half an 

Angel food cake

Riding a swirl

Of

Sea foam frosting

In the summer's 

Deep blue 

Ocean of a sky.

Yellow and Blue

Butter-yellow tinged with peach

Lift your faces up and reach

Towards the blue sky overhead

Dancing in the flowerbed.

Bumblebee

Bumblebee, what a fine job you have!

Your career calls for visiting 

Gardens and meadows

Wherever flowers bloom, 

The enterprise you undertake

Sampling nectar of every flavor, 

You savor ( it's your duty)

Rose juice, crape myrtle wine, 

Peach blossom syrup, 

Daisy liqueur, Azalea sap, zinnia must,

Juice of lilies and daffodillies.

Do you have a degree? Would I need one?

Were I to learn your craft, 

Follow you in your profession,

Sniffing blooms and dipping my nose

In bright satiny colours 

All day long

It's a vocation, a delightful calling

I am certain I could 

Master and relish!

Crownthorn

Chapel of glass on the hillside

Place of shady rest

Here the soul can quiet

Songbird silent on her nest.

Sanctuary in the woods

Place for prayer and praise;

Here my heart can listen

Learn Your holy ways.

Red Rose

Whose finger, like my mother's

Rolled this ribbon of red satin

Into swirls and curls?

Who smoothed it round and round

Tied it in the freshly washed 

Hair of a child 

Headed to Sunday School?

Painting

We're painting circley summer sunshines,

Flower pots full of bright yellow dandelions,

Clouds sweetly sailing on blue-blue sky.

We can paint horses galloping by!

We're painting kites on wind, boats on lake waters

We're stirring and mixing paints of all colors,

We're painting bicycles, flags, and fireworks,

Purple houses with chimneys like smokestacks,

Crooked square windows and open front doors,

Gramps on his tractor doing farm chores,

Butterflies flitting and red birds a'singing

Sparrows on nests and goldfinches winging

We're painting summer, bright colored days

The garden growing a corn stalk maze.

Grassy green lawn and sweet pasture where cows graze.

We're putting up summer to recall on winter days.

Blowing Bubbles

Blowing bubbles

Happy bubbles

Soapy bubbles

Breezy bubbles

Popping, spitting, bursting bubbles

Bubbles

Blowing bubbles

Shiny bubbles

Sunny bubbles

Sudsy bubbles

Bubbly, spinning, rainbowy bubbles

Bubbles.

Play Day

Little boys and turtles

A lively combination

Of shells and claws

Of hands and knees

Both roaming free exploring

Crew cuts and ball caps,

Boxes and burlap bags

Come now, turtle, let's go swim

Put him down, I'll follow him.

Swinging

What fun we have on a summer day

When friends and cousins come to stay

At Grandma's house where we play and run

And laugh and sing in the summer sun.

Hot Sky

Billows like pillows 

For the princess of the pea

Storybook tale of old

Piled up miles high

In the hot summer sky.

Churning white billows

Silently crashing like the sea

Waves—washing, dashing 

On sandy shore

Building up more and more.

Dreams

Soft as dreams,

As wedding veils

As soft as baby breath

As white as milk,

Sweet as gold honey

Dribbled on white silk.

Madison

I'm a fish! 

I'm a paddling dog!

I'm a duck,

I'm a shiny green frog,

I'm a turtle.
I'm a water bug,

A water lily

See me float

In my cute little boat? 

Look at me;

I'm swimmin'!

Let Freedom Ring

Freedom 

Rights

Equality

Emancipation

Dream

Oh Beautiful!

Miracle

New Day

New Day

A sweet damp coolness 

Strange for July 

Lies over the farm this morning.

I walk to the box to post

A letter to a friend;

Walk to where the horses

Graze in the south pasture.

Sam has pinpoints of orange neon

Along his ebony legs and flanks

He's been walking through 

Patches of Coreopsis 

Curious—He stretches his neck 

toward me, nostrils flared to smell

My fresh soap scent.

In the mown grass along the road

A length of tan white rope,

A snake's discarded mosaic skin,

Catches my eye.

Intricate, fragile, tenuous

Like designs etched in leather

My skin has grown thin too 

Mayhap, it is time to change.

Wind

Wind

Whips the prairie grasses

Pushes cottony clouds across the sky

Nudges cattle toward water holes

Dries seed pods, flowers, and grains

Sends milkweed parachutes flying

Bends trees 'till they lean in submission

Sweeps dust down country roads

Presses heat against my shoulders

Whistles though the tree tops

Wind 

Baby

Playtime in the summer heat

Run in the sprinkler. I'm sweet

Dig in the sand. Stay cool,

Wade in the bubble pool.

Run barefoot in the grasses;

Hope this summer never passes!