In the time it took me to walk
The trash bins to the street
Two trips, eighty strides each
Wheeling the blue recycling
Then just simple trash
Finally a third chilly walk
Dragging a tiny brittle tree
Our Christmas, complete
The sun hovered
Glowing giant orange
Through stretching branches
Curious angles, each unique
Twists of unknown origin
Then, a glow
This photo. This sight.
A staggering
Orange explosion
Bathing grasses in gold,
Carpeting tidal pools
In glistening yellow sparks.
Yet, that sight
Is a fraction.
The seeing just
A tiny suggestion
Of dawn’s extent.
Waking sensations wash over me as
My camera captures the rising
And I am here, inhaling every other bit.
A great horned owl’s low hoots
Harmonize red winged blackbirds’ trill,
Elbowing through the snow goose honks.
Morning’s beautiful cacophony.
The sunrise sound immersion
In the bracing February chill.
Me, breathing in marshy sea scents
And a gulp of thin-air lung-freeze.
This photo. This sight. An invitation.
A few ambitious branches glow
burnt umber, crimson and a
golden shade seen on parrots
We paddle through choppy water
Most trees lining the shore cling
to late August greens, dull and
forlorn as summer winds to an end
We paddle through choppy water
Our canoe is heavy with camping things
And firewood, for flames and pondering
We paddle through choppy water
A lone loon flies low
Parallel to the water’s surface
A precise, effortless distance
There is no flapping, simply
Levitation with forward motion
Isn’t that magic?
We paddle through choppy water
Now, an island’s fancy greeting
A rocky shore with full moon rising
Laying a glistening water runway
Bathing our canoe in moonlight
A tent, an island, a sweet retreat
The river had flooded its banks that day
Swirling around tree trunks and stranding
Muddy puddles and mosquitos along our path
We jumped the puddles and swatted bugs
I walked only a step ahead under the sun
Puffy clouds floated above when we froze
Barely breathing as that electric blue dart
Whizzed then helicopter hovered over cloudy puddles
Four translucent silver wings glittering
Then eight
Two dragonflies dancing in unabashed performance
One simple moment of life affirming perfection
Standing inches apart, inhaling magic
Minutes of awe laying a path
As wide eyes absored joyful views
Drenched in nature’s excellence
Seven AM rowdy bird screams reverb in the oppressive heat
Blasting unknown calls as others sing secret lyrics.
The chaotic symphony infuses my morning with calm.
Serenity amid the clatter.
The definition of contradiction.
Peace
I dry my seat from overnight dew as
A shaky speckled fawn sniffs
around the edges of the patio below.
Her saddle a constellation of white dots.
White tail flicking intermittently some
unseen fly as she moves out of my
Coffee spot gaze.
Welcome
On this other new dawn the weather is cooler. Relief.
The mother stands in the mulch
Just beyond the pool deck munching grass.
Yesterday’s fawn bounds toward her mom.
Baby’s head under belly tilts, grasping teat,
Sucking hard as her baby tail wags at warp speed.
Rhythmically lifting front hoof in time or excitement,
Like any joyful baby thrilling at mama connection.
Nourish
Because I can answer the questions, I do
Because I can solve the problems, I do
Because I can see my new ex-girlfriend’s mother wilting,
Her shoulders stooped as she begins a diabetic dive,
While her daughter packs boxes, asking which soup
Ladle she can take. “Take them all” I say as I
Prepare her mother a cheese plate with neatly sliced
Cheese and fanned out crackers. I do that too.
Her mother looks from the party plate to my eyes
Sweat on her upper lip from stress and low blood sugar
“You always do too much” she says as she marries a
Slice of cheddar to a Triscuit and takes a bite of relief.
Because I can calm their anxiety, I do
Because I can get it done faster, I do
Because I can hear his tension simmering through the phone
When his proceeds haven’t arrived from the sale that closed
Two days ago, I sit in the theater’s 5th row center seat, clutching
My phone and coordinating a solution. Before the curtain goes up
I text the lawyer and the manager with instructions and suggestions,
Constructing a plan before the lights go dim. I do that too.
Because I know all this, every summer morning I breathe
Crushed lavender buds held to my nose in my cupped hands.
Because I know all this, as often as I can (yes, often),
I escape the phone calls and demands for an hour or two,
While I stroll through gardens of tulips and poppies with
My camera in hand, inhaling beauty and streaming sunshine,
And exhaling worry wrapped in brown paper packages tied
Tight with twine, happily littering the garden’s precious grounds.
Burdens I had accepted are scattered among the tulip petals.
I do that too.
The moon was enormous, yellow and nearly full
Hanging low as I drove pre-dawn to arrive on time
“Don’t be late” so I drove on and stared hard not
To forget that giant magnificent high sky glow
The entire field was bright yellow acre upon
Acre covered with sun-colored wall-to-wall
“Don’t be late” so I drove on and stared hard not
To forget that endless electrifying banana glow
Sorry to rush on tomorrow I’ll wake early and stand
Long to take in the nearer full hanging low moon
Sorry to rush on tomorrow I’ll retrace to those
Yellow fields to see up close the golden blanket
Tomorrow.
I see your cute face loud and clear
With sweetest squinted smiling eyes
Your nose dot is a little orange(ish)
A marvelously perfect complimentary hue
To the violet shades of your papery skin
It smelled like spring this morning
Exquisite evocative head-filling waves
Of fresh cut grass and buds hovering
On the brink of full blown blossoms
Crisp air laced with warm sunshine
Inhaling each blustery cool-warm gust
Filling lungs with the anticipation of
Sunny warmth only moments away
Puffy vanilla ice-cream cone fruit trees
Showering down welcome April snow
Rendering greening grass a white blanket
Magical fluffy carpet beneath grateful feet
In an era of constant bombarding news
Edgy days and eternal sleepless nights
Quiet calm is an elusive aspiration
A camera shy fox avoiding the shutter
Remedy sleuthing is drenched in green
Breathing nature ratchets down stress
An elevator’s hand-cranked slow descent
Just one floor down to normal breath
mannersworld 