Friday, May 20, 2016

Birds & Cats: cinquains



IT TAKES A VILLAGE
Alarmed
cacophany--
a robber in the gum:
the crow retreats with starlings in
pursuit.
~~~~ 2003

ELIZABETH CALICO SAYS:
Tuna --
while I like to
lick the can, I don't like
the 9-Lives brand of tunafish
cat food!
~~~2003

Playing
in the high grass,
only his tail showing,
the young cat bats at the yellow
flower.
~~~PL 2013

Boots sits
on the Ford roof
surveying his green world
full of birds & squirrels. There goes a
bluejay.
~~~2013 
Raining.
All outside cats
run in when I open
the door: Ebonyzer, Blackie
and Bibbs.
~~~2014




Angry
mockingbird mom
scolds, divebombs Boots-the-cat
for merely walking around in
the yard.
~~~2014






Passing
by the window,
I see a bluebird at
the birdbath. It dips in twice, then
flies off.
~~~2015



Daddy
bluebird bathes. Soon,
a robin flies in, up
in a menacing leap. But Dad's
not scared.
~~~2016

PL dba lovepat press


Friday, May 13, 2016

May poems: tanka

is the loss
of two old oaks
the reason
the irises
bloomed so well?
~~

sparrow
wading in
then jumping ot
of the birdbath--
a windy May Day
~~

country air
rife
with aroma
of privet
and honeysuckle
~~

on the bike path
BLIND CURVE--
KEEP RIGHT
but the deer
can't read

[devised from photo by S. Breidenthal, AD-
G, May,'15]
~~

honeysuckle patch
hiding a bank robber
and his accomplice

[OTHER DAYS- AD-G, (Joe Broadway, Bauxite), 1965]
reprinted 5. 18. '15]
~~

saw it
before I heard it--
in the time it took
to write this
the rain had stopped


Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Poems for early May

Son Eric's backyard, summer '15
 
walking the Labyrinth--
at first, intent on staying
within the lines
 
May 1--
earliest we could
go barefooted
 
patio floor boards
reflecting the waining light
soaking up raindrops
 
too young
to own a cottontail
our silence
 
yellow butterfly
nose to throat
with the honeysuckle
 
along the creek bank
kudzu climbs the cottonwood--
tall weed skeletons
 
gentle shower
mixed with the smell of woodsmoke--
bird with nesting grass

PL - selections from Connecting Our Houses (1997),
MayDay-MayDay-MayDay (2003), a bird calls at dusk (2007),
along the creek bank (2005).