sporting long-sleeved
cool weather garb
during a short-lived break
in summer ‘s muggy heat,
I love the loose drape
of flannelled body camouflage
big blue truck
Christmas came today —
a slew of boxes
*
packaged in swirls
of brown-paper ribbons
*
to cushion uneven, bumpy roads
a trove of poetry
*
joyful new images,
all mine for the taking
Alfresco
You smoke the chops.
I nuke the broccoli
set the patio table
thankful for the gray-cloud respite,
tardy break from late-summer heat.
*
You make a face
when I sip my merlot
after rescuing a wayward fly
from the brink of napa’s plump tannins,
its claret-smooth glide.
*
We plot vacation options
ponder post-retirement timelines
laugh as puppy patrols
the perimeter path
along our black wrought iron fence.
*
You close up shop,
turn off the propane.
We debate the story arc
of Mindhunter on Netflix
we’re eager to resume.
*
We call for Coco,
I crank down the umbrella.
Dusk at this hour, still several weeks away.
You grab the peppermill.
Tummies full, we head back inside.
my uncles party on a Saturday night
crazy Christmas cactus
~ for Shelly
its shoots, hot-summer starshine
green tendrils, fleshy spokes
a friendship token, gifted with love
broken record
we have no choice
eat the heat
succumb to the sultry
and try to remain patient
as we wait for autumn’s bliss
liabilities
baring teeth and souls,
we find our own faults,
one with the other
speckled eggs of outrage
that only time might temper
contrasting desires, darkness vs. light
Claude Monet painted a series of more than 250 water lily paintings,
a major tenet of his work the last 31 years of his life.
He so loved his water lilies, gardeners rowed a small boat each morning,
out to the middle of a pond, just to dust and clean them, per his bidding.
*
three twigs neatly arranged beneath the dash,
carefully aligned between accelerator and brake
urine-filled pop cans and bottles
hidden in closet crevices, those darkest of corners
fears of a lover’s demise during the night,
vibrating alarms allow silent sentry
doors locked & unlatched, locked & unlatched
in an exasperating repetition of senseless obsession
*
dappled sunlight augments the subtle splendor
of a simple garden pond —
its lovely waters, a simmering hot-bed
of potentialities
before the annihilation of heat
steeped in the deep shade
of our honey locust & Chanticleer pear,
I set the hose nozzle to SHOWER
and give the hostas a good long drink
mindless tasks, so perfect
for one’s brain to ruminate —
or rest, as the spirit moves you
this morning, mine does a little
bit of both which suits me just fine
mid-season
binoculared-vision
of evening silhouettes
*
as Canada geese
congregate
*
on the fairway,
the handsome backdrop
*
of terraced fields
in the distance
*
summer days
already contracting
*
as the slow race
to autumn begins
Chit Chat