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

POEMS WRITTEN DURING JANUARYS/JANUARIES

the incessant sound

from a dining room wall

traced to attic vent

(2010)

~ ~ ~ ~

snowman coffee mug

but no sign of snow so far

this January

(2012)

~ ~ ~ ~

"... not bitterly cold..."

15 degrees feeling 

bitter to me

(2001)

~ ~ ~ ~

kick-standing bike

still on the porch

house gone*

one payment shy

the fellowship hall

now gone*

the school scattered

beyond the wall

bearing its name**

(1999)

~ ~ ~ ~

* from Andrea Harter, AD-G

** from J. Slivka, AD-G

c 2020, PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA

Advent and the ides of December

pre-Christmas cleaning
after watering indoor
plants, the smell of rain
~ ~ ~ ~

for my hunter son
a shotgun shell coaster set
or camo grill tool?
~ ~ ~ ~

column about books
ends with a plug for his own
(would I do the same?)
~ ~ ~ ~

one week till winter
a sparrow
in the birdbath
~ ~ ~ ~

church service cancelled
"No power. Forty degrees
inside. Don't drive down."
~ ~ ~ ~

c PL, dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA

Seasonal poems

swallowtail

must love the taste

of abelia blooms

~~~~

LEAH FROM KANSAS

Bevy 

of butterflies--

monarchs, to be exact,

each time I pass the calendar

photo.

~~~~

taut red skin

tart tang of yellow flesh

no wonder Wm Carlos Wms

couldn't help himself

from eating a plum

~~~~

Flying

by here faster

than the speed limit. Where's

a sheriff's deputy when you

need one?

~~~~

Blackcap

and cardinal

at the unusually-

ignored suet cake. Is something

amiss?

~~~~

Hedge-row

of yellow bell,

japonica, privet--

a neat hideaway for rabbits

and squirrels.

~~~~

Fenced out

by the neighbors

on the south needing tall

enclosure to keep their future

dogs in.

~~~~

After

last night's t-storm

the temps of early fall

are 70 degrees - very

welcome.

~~~~

c 2019 by PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR US

Poems for September 9, many years

                                          Cottonwoods and pine, autumn @ Dairy Hollow

SEPTEMBER 9

viewing the world
through one eyeglass lens
a cataract gone
--A Lamp to Work By, 2012

viewing the news
through an iPad
paper newspaper gone
--new poem, 9/9/'19

vehicle hauler,
along the interstate
six-car pile up
--Connecting Our Houses, 1997

CRITIQUE
Strange, the
paths our poems
take before coming out
of the woods near perfect, like our
children.
--September Cinquains, 2003

I stop
reading to watch
a hummingird drinking
...and drinking. Sated, it soon darts
away.
--September Cinquains, 2017

on the walking trail
city's truck driver, mower
ignoring their own signs
--A Patch of Yellow, 2005

new college provost--
my child in his daughter's
third-grade class
--a crisp brown leaf, 2015

onto the freeway~
a convoy of semis
already there
--just before dawn, 2006

c 2019, PL, dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA

AUGUST cinquains: blogging

Blue jay
intimidates
the smaller wren, but not
for long. Then, hungry Woody pecks
his fill.

Drowning

out the 'chit-chit'

of the redbird, neighbor

decides to use the vacuum on

her car.

Robin

and brown thrasher

bathing together--fresh,

cool water. A high heat index

forecast.

Juvy

house finches stop

by the full, rain-freshened

birdbath as if to say, "Hey, you

go first."

Oh, my!

The mockingbird

in the nearby holly

is as loud as the panel truck

passing.

Mama

brown thrasher takes

time out from her brood, rests

a l-o-n-g time on the rim of the

birdbath.

Silly

young hummingbird

eschews the colored blooms

and hovers close to the resting

black cat.

c 2019, PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA