"It's the little things we do ..." - Willa Hoey*

(*from The Joy of Words published by the Ferguson Publishing Co. 1960, Chicago.)

Here are some little poems of mine. Some were inspired by news articles; some by nature around me. Enjoy.

THE STORM
Thunder's
shaking the porch
(made of concrete) that holds
the swing. Too close for me; I go
inside.
~~~

SAYS THE PRIME MINISTER
Dangers
of nuclear
technology are cause
enough for Japan to reduce
program.
~~~

cool in the shade
should I mow now
or wait till evening?
~~~

CHURCHILL DOWNS
At least
one racehorse barn
as well as the chapel
were damaged by a tornado.
Some folks

might yell,
"Divine judgment!"
but it won't do any
good. "Just a twist of nature," the
answer.
~~~

sunset
on the placid lake
of her painting
~~~

FATHER OF CRYONICS MOVEMENT
"...frozen under
optimum conditions
to have one more chance."
~~~

chickadee
at the feeder
ant on my arm
~~~

c 2011 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press

Autumn in the wings

Tomorrow is the first day of autumn 2011. It was cool enough today in the heartland to work in the yard. Although two and a half hours' work on a two-acre homeplace would be hard to spot by anyone else, I know--and my body feels it--what I accomplished. Here are some unpublished, September-generated poems from years gone by.

new eyeglasses
receding sky-dot a crow
not a floater
~~~ (1997)

five years today
of living in this town
feel I now belong
~~~ (2001)

three days
into autumn
55 degrees
~~~ (2001)

black and yellow
butterfly feeding
on orange lantana
~~~ (2008)

the 90-year-old
choosing mint-julep blue
for her new carpet
~~~ (2002)

a small patch
of green grass around
the watered dogwood
~~~ (2000)

pear parings
back to the earth
feast for bees and gnats
~~~ (1997)

night bugs
observe rests, too,
during their songs
~~~ (2006)

c 2011 Pat Laster dba lovepat press

More September shorties

the McCourt brothers
leaving Angela's ashes
in the pub
~~~

flashing my lights
at the hungry crow
its early breakfast
~~~

lazy Saturday
during an all-day soaker
the boys building dams
~~~

leaving plenty
of the windfall pears
to gleaner bees
~~~

at the last second
working cop with a solo
throws on his choir robe
~~~

the day-long rain
highway's new surface overlaid
with pine needles
~~~

butterfly
over the bed
of petunias
~~~

footprints
in the dewy grass
child's Sunday shoes
~~~

first cool snap~
the owl calling
just before dawn
~~~

cicada at noon
on the mountain trail
the end of summer
~~~

newly mown grass
a branch of the spirea
moving
~~~

entering
the Race For The Cure
because of the cause
~~~

c 2011 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press

September Cinquains

by Pat Laster

For any new wanna-be poet who might be reading this blog for the first time, the cinquain--for my purpose--is a syllabic pattern of 5 lines punctuated as appropriate, with 2-4-6-8-2 syllables. Ending each line with as strong a word as is possible is desired. Titles are used to add more information if needed.Cinquains (sin-kanes) allow more wiggle room than haiku or senryu or tanka, which have stricter parameters. Here are a few of mine. Only two have titles.

Two red
pickups scream past
my homestead, followed by
the "wheeah, wheeah" of the small
fire truck.
~~~

Statue
of Liberty
closing for a year while
safety renovations are in
progress.
~~~

"100 Years Ago"
Even
the OTHER DAYS
feature's full of high-temp
stories. People slept on porches,
in yards.
~~~

Getting
outta Dodge, er,
cities on the East Coast:
people who respect storm Irene's
danger.
~~~

"Too Close to Home"
Who would
murder someone
seventy-plus years old?
No one is immune these days to
evil.
~~~

Eighty-
year-old wanted
to learn Karate to
stay in shape. A broken foot stopped
that "kick."
~~~

c 2011 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press
of