step into a cloud

i step into a cloud on my deck

where i can barely see the yellow mum

at the far end or the greenhouse

in the back yard of the house below

sunrise colors seep into the white-gray

but give no hint of the eastern horizon

missing from my encroached-on world

and yet experience tells me the rest

of my universe remains as it has been

daylight will emerge as it is able

distant objects will reappear wondering

where i have been and i will believe

again, that i am part of something

greater than myself – thank goodness

sound haiku

whisper if you hear

shout and lose touch with nature

listen, understand

laughing at Nature

i chuckle at how the bobcat cub saunters

through my back yard as though it were his

though he never offers to split the property tax bill

but my amusement is short-lived as i remember

Mother Nature’s taxes are matters

of life and death