June poems from different years

down-the-hill neighbor
when I returned from errands
he had mowed my yard
          2005-Couch Street, Benton
~ ~ ~ ~

picking up the pace
airplane and thunder above
the trail in late June
         2001- Arkadelphia
~ ~ ~ ~

Group Living clients
out for daily exercise
on the walking trail
          2001-Arkadelphia
~ ~ ~ ~

teenager gloating
"I've had no bath for a month
but I've gone swimming!"
          2005 - Benton
~ ~ ~ ~

two wrens
the color
of suet
         2018 - Couchwood
~ ~ ~ ~

a mockingbird

walking-flying the dorm steps

early June morning

         1998 - Arkadelphia

c 2020, PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA

Birds and squirrels ---and a snake!

SITTING GUARD
A squirrel
co-opts fallen
seeds, scaring the young birds
in their foraging. I'm here to
umpire.
(5.9.'20)

DISCOVERY
Little
wrens can stretch for
suet and they don't raise
their heads as some birds do when they
swallow.
(5.1.'20)

AT LEAST THERE'S A CHOICE
Blackcap
at the dwindling
suet cake tries and tries
to access it; goes to the seed
feeder.
(5.8.'20)

RECOGNITION
I hear
her 'chits' before
I see mama redbird
fly to the branch with the suet
feeder.
(5.6.'20)

AND I WAS SOCK-FOOTED!

Prepping

to sit on swing

and read, I spy a grown

mockingbird chipping at a large-

bore snake,

the first

I've seen since I've

lived here (one month shy of

fourteen years). And then while I stewed,

it crawled

a ways

on the ramp. I

threw a gee-gaw at it,

it retreated to the ground or

under

the ramp.

I ran in for

my tablet for proof, but

by that time, it had disappeared.

Oh, dear!

Now, each

step I take must

be monitored for black

and long and slithering before

I move.

(5. 18. '20)

c 2020, PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA

Now that National Poetry Month is history, here are more springs poems and photos: Blogging

just like my mother's

my kitchen windowsills full

of starter plants

~ ~ ~ ~

first blooms

on the daughter-shared

lily

~ ~ ~ ~

STAY HOME TIME

For some

reason, I take

time to fold a fitted

sheet that's now lying as flat as

top sheets.

~ ~ ~ ~

PESTS UNTIL THEY BLOOM

Privet,

honeysuckle,

hated most of the year,

are spring-welcome; their aroma

sublime.

~ ~ ~ ~

c 2020, PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA

Various poems and spring photos

Sis Carolyn's photo

HAIKU

the clear creek’s coldness

rustling over gravel bar

a sassafras leaf
~ ~ ~ ~

the scent of kudzu

along the walking trail

a pair of redbirds
~ ~ ~ ~

A GLOSS ON THIRTEEN

The white-haired woman

way older than 13

 ---seven decades older--schleps

book bag and computer valise

with one hand, pulls

herself forward with the other that holds

onto the railing, up

13 wooden steps

to the landing; she rests a beat,

takes 13 more steps to the main floor,

rests another beat, then shifts bags

to one-per-hand, walks

13 steps to Number Three, tries

13 keys before one fits. In her room––

newly-decorated—she counts 13

Safari-themed artifacts:

framed prints, wall hanging,

statuette, candles,

desk lamp with elephant base.

She was the first of 13 siblings.

When hepatitis surged through

the family, the doctor visited

13 times in as many days.

 She’s lived in 13 rent houses,

Thirteen new homes now abide

on the once-family-owned hayfield.

Thirteen pieces of cobalt blue

glass shine from her south windows.

She was born on the 13.^th Perhaps

when she dies the family will wait

till the next 13^th rolls around to

see her buried.

[PUBLISHED IN 2019 MSPS GRIST] 

c PL, dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA

Mother Nature waffling: winter or spring?

mockingbird
atop the pear tree
storm brewing
~~~~

late winter cold front

the empty yard swing moving

in the northwest wind

~~~~

icicles
yet it's thundering
this morning
~~~~

house going up

in tornado's aftermath

old patch of jonquils

~~~~

warm winter dusk
the sounds of children outside
spawning memories
~~~~

losing track of time
researching woodchuck/ groundhog
after a goof-up
~~~~

a piece of leaf

in my snow ice cream

February's end

~~~~

before Leap Day's gone

recording 3 days' poem

output: eighty lines

~~~~

c 2020, PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA 

Between winter and spring: poems

                                                  Last year's roadside flowers

FEBRUARY 7 2020

After

last night, no more

lows in the 20s, at

least for the next week. I'm ready

for spring.

~ ~ ~ ~

long roll of thunder

two birds keep eating

from the suet

~ ~ ~ ~

male cardinal

sitting on abelia branch

next to quince blooms

~ ~ ~ ~

AFTER TODAY, 11 MORE MONTHS

Last day

of the first month

a young tufted titmouse

enjoying a full "bathtub" plus

the sun.

~ ~ ~ ~

TO THE SQUIRRELS

Popcorn

with sea salt tastes

old. I find the "Best used

by" date. No wonder! July of

last year!

~ ~ ~ ~

gentle rain 

mockingbird drinking

from the half-filled birdbath

~ ~ ~ ~

three crows

finding the refused

canned cat food

~ ~ ~ ~

tight buds on short stems

brought inside to force blooms

yellowed, but no flowers

These ARE in bloom in 2020

c 2020, PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA

And all of a sudden it's February! - Poems

placing the helmet
upside down
for the wren
~ ~ ~ ~

new snow
on japonica blooms
Groundhog Day
~ ~ ~ ~

a dove calls
close by
but out of sight
~ ~ ~ ~

oh, wow!
the sweetness of the apple
from the sale carousel
~ ~ ~ ~

before dawn
the long freight
coming . . . and going
~ ~ ~ ~

driving after dark
a running length of gray fur
stopped by my tire
~ ~ ~ ~

spring cleaning
on the warm winter day
early daffodils
~ ~ ~ ~

c 2020, PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA