From the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow (Arkansas)

Some of these poems have gushed up from wherever such things lie. And some have been formed from news articles or photos.

SEN-NEWS

"Christmas Eve"

a failed attempt
at suicide--the Madoffs
after the news broke
~~~

SEN-NEWS

"Later, perhaps"

We burn
our macramas,
those stifling body veils.
The flames resemble thin, frilly
neck scarves.
~~~

CINQUAIN

"In the Mountains"

Inside
in the Ozarks
during the autumn? What
a shame! But, geez! It's 28
degrees!
~~~

CINQUAIN

"Noise"

Last night
the fan sounded
like a bullfrog in pain.
I sprayed some Skin-So-Soft on it.
Voila!
~~~

SENRYU

"At the writers colony"

replica
of a Dairy Hollow cow
watching as I write
~~~

CINQUAIN

"Late October"

Brewing
second 4-cup
pot of flavored coffee
on this cold and rainy Ozark
morning.

c 2011 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press

The Atmosphere of Autumn

CINQUAIN
The sweet
odor of sawn
lumber drifts from neighbor's,
adds to sparkle of just-watered
garden.
~~~
CINQUAIN

"Mandevilla"

"Hello,
pretty flower,"
I say to the pink bloom
that faces me when the swivel
stops. "Hi."
~~~

CINQUAIN

"Who Taught Who(m)?"

The cats,
outside all night,
head-butted at their food
dish. Did athletes learn this action
from pets?
~~~

SENRYU

in the metal jaw
of the clipboard ...sizeable
sheaf of manuscript
--idea from Hotchner, Papa Hemingway, p.72
~~~

SEN-NEWS*
(* a designation of my own)

"Occupy Wall Street"

he is skilled, jobless
and pessimistic, yet he
whips out an iPhone
~~~

c 2011 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press

If I could stay outside all cool autumn days...

At times--
like fall--I wish
the swing faced north, where reds
and oranges of sassafras
flame forth.
~~~

TWO WRENS...
...checking
out the concrete
square of the porch pillar
holding up the roof. Househunting
perhaps?
~~~

Back from
mailing month's bills,
I point to zinnias, say
"Water those;" to potted mums, say
"Plant those;"

to pears
on the porch swing,
"Peel those." But I head back
into the house where more projects
await.
~~~

HUNGRY
(an Etheree)
One
orange,
one yellow
butterfly-- both
ravenous?--sip from
the yellow zinnia plant.
I move in with a camera;
they flit this way and that, but soon
re-alight on their sustenance, like
feral cats dancing around the food dish.
~~~

A trip
for the paper,
then to retrieve the blue
beer can some fool threw in my yard,
I see

the pears
dotting the ground
and say, I must gather
them today! The wild asters full
of blue

under
the colorful
sassafras remind me
why I didn't destroy them when
I mowed.
~~~

TRY AGAIN
Mama
does; babies see;
kitty tries but can't quite
make the jump from rock to birdbath
water.

THEY TRIED AGAIN
The next
time I look, both
kitties are on the edge
of the concrete basin. I move;
they jump.
~~~
c 2011, Pat Laster dba lovepat press
Check out my first novel, A Journey of Choice, on Amazon, B&N or iUniverse

A RAFT OF NEW CINQUAINS

Speaking
to the deceased
in obituaries
is becoming more commonplace
nowdays.
~~~

The sad
hanging basket
of Mom's old begonia
finally showing some delicate
pink buds.
~~~

Workers
at Gettysburg
found Civil War bullets
while cutting a fallen oak on
Culp's Hill.
~~~

Buried
artillery
shells still viable all
these decades since the Vietnam
"conflict."
~~~

Polar
bears outnumber
folks in Norway's Arctic
Svalbard. Bear attacks killed one lad,
alas.
~~~

Some folks
are making good
money stealing copper
from churches. Have they no respect
for God?

c 2011 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press

"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