Posthumously: a poem

 

 

Posthumously
 

 Three months
after Mom’s death,
we five siblings went through
box after box of greeting cards,
letters,

 

diaries,
journals, brittle
clippings of her mother’s
that had been bequeathed to Mom as
eldest.

 

Weekends
are for yard sales,
so we planned one when five
of us seven children could be
present.

 

Pie pans,
cookbooks, blankets,
mismatched silverware, odd
purses, sweaters, glassware, aprons
and more,

found new
homes in exchange
for one dollar, or two.
Neighbors dropped by for a look-see,
chatted,

picked up
tiny trinkets
so they would have something
of “dear Ms. Anna Pearl’s” that they
could keep.

Packing
unsold clothing,
a daughter found something
in her mom’s black velvet jacket:
dried bread,

too large
at the time for
her to swallow during
Holy Communion many months
ago.

[PL - written in July of 2006]

Rain? Sleet? Mix? Snow? poems

 

From the Kitchen Table, I see...

droplets
of last night's rain
converging on roof's edge,
pausing a moment, then sparkling,
falling.
~~

the old house gone
petunias' final bloom
before the frost
~~

first frost
the coarse-weave blanket
holding my warmth
~~

the late dusk sky
backlighting the pine trees
a full day of rain
~~

autumn evening
a flock of geese honks
above the light rain
~~

two days later
a midnight rain
re-leafs my lawn

Chorales in cinquains

chorale - a simple hymn tune

She Surprised Herself

 

After

only one week

in the Ozarks, our friend--

a writer from Ontario--

said 'y'all.'

PL~~~

 

After

the pear harvest,

the south winds wrestle one

recalcitrant fruit to the ground.

My treat!

PL~~~

 

Andy Rooney 1919-2011

 

Though he

had two machines

in his office--to press

pants and shine shoes--he always looked

rumpled.
PL, from the news~~~

In the Mountains

I sell
two of my books--
$30. I spend
thirty-five shopping at thrift stores
for "fleas."
PL~~~

Creation?

Fish grease
and olive oil
mix on the sheet of foil,
create shapes like islands before
my eyes.
PL~~~

Be Careful What You Ask For

She called
out for added
singers in the Advent
program. A dozen teenaged boys
showed up.
PL~~~

Autumn's Fallen

Four leaves--
maple, dogwood,
tulip poplar, sweet gum--
two red, two yellow, now grace my
table.
PL~~~



Post-election poems

two tails
with lives of their own
she-cats facing off

[PL- from November Nuggets, 2003]
~~

rush to early church
my watch on upside down
and unmatched earrings

[PL - from before the frost, 2005]
~~

library visit
the child in awe of how quiet
grown-ups can be

[PL - from at the sound of geese, 2006]
~~

sassafras grove
adding fieriness
to the fall sunrise

[PL - from the last windfall pear, 2011]
~~

DST again
as the light wanes early
insect songs begin

[PL - from apples into swans, 2012]
~~

oh, no!
seeing results
of Tuesday's election

[PL - still in journal, 2014]
~~~~
~~~~