weathered face

(haiku)

weathered face of stone

or battered sea cliff or man

life experienced

belief in self

(haiku)

white-speckled petunias

red petals drop cloth-looking

stand tall as if pink  

“I” gone

headstones in old cemeteries

tell stories in names, dates and epithets

we can conjure but never be sure

loved ones may never die so long

as we live in someone’s memory

but that means “we,”  “I” will disappear

“I” will cease to exist, even in memory

but was I not part of something vast

beyond my comprehension?

was  “I” not merely a trickle in a brook

the merged into a stream  that joined

a mighty river to the sea?

narrowing down

the problem with near constant

hurt is distraction of attention

to the rest of the world as though

only i were important

memorial

the breeze a gentle reminder

of his touch near my shoulder

when he wanted to share

the antics of a bird on the wire fence

or a doe still beside the pine

at the edge of the meadow

i had not yet seen

you don’t say

 speaking of saying aloud

what we feel inside

brings tears to the grieving

the angry, the hopeless

and betrayed—agitation

that tears within us until

given opportunity to erupt

or—grant heaven!—to speak

take off

just after midnight

my alarm jangles to rise

to take family to the airport

for a trip to the east coast

they love to travel and i wish

them well as long as they are able

on being heard

the aggravating feeling of being patted

on the head and told “there, there”

to a chorus of platitudes or pitying stare that assumes i am being hysterical

not only does not help but also

frustrates, humiliates and gets nowhere

the compelling feeling of being heard

having someone listen carefully enough

to begin testing for the consequences

of my assertions, not to prove me wrong

but in an effort to determine the cause

raises the promise of help

in finding a solution

so many help

some friends help so far

beyond my expectations

seeing a need before i express it

and quietly filling in gaps

i would have stumbled over

i am so blessed with family

and insightful friends

renewed hope

finally the head of the osprey female

showed above the high side of the nest

to give me hope of the survival

of this pair that has come each year

for a decade to ritchey road

weeks ago we watched the male

at work reinforcing the sticks and daily

from then perching near or flying off

as though for food for a family we

could not see and were concerned

had not survived the spell of nasty

weather that came down on them

not long after we were sure their eggs

had been laid for the next generation

scrubs not exactly bullies

flaunting dusky blue, white bib

and greater size western scrub jays

land on the curved metal support

for the bird feeder platform

and chickadees, wrens, even thrushes

flit away from their midday snacking

to allow the intruder full access

to the tiny yellow, red and green beads

in the metal bowl

it isn’t exactly bullying, just taking

what is offered by smaller

less assertive neighbors

not without sin

a sin to throw away anything

that might still have usefulness

child that i am of parents

who started married life together

early in the Great Depression 

Mom left cupboard after cupboard

of washed, capped jars as i have one such low kitchen cabinet stocked

with glass containers ready 

for second, third or tenth use

magazine envelopes yield large scraps

of paper for shopping lists or cut down

to 3 x 5 for index cards

rubber bands securing asparagus

are wound around a plastic tube on

my desk, some waiting their next duty

until old age robs them of elasticity so

they quietly snap at touch lying

in useless line where their lifework had been the ability to encircle and hold

together as mine was to continue

saving and building until i, too

lie down, unable any longer

to gather scraps or to mend the broken bits the world has handed me

or to enfold and protect those i love

until they can grow and flourish

water’s give and take

tiny waves sweep outward

crisscrossing intricate competing circles

between rows of feathered carrot tops

as each dense raindrop plummets

from the toolshed’s melodious

metal roof splashing, heavy,

into shallow brown ditch water

or trickle into rivulets gurgling

to caress the lowest points

of Mama’s garden

I scour her fine furrows

with the blunt end of a stick

trying to drain this overabundant

life-sustaining gift of water to keep

it from drowning her days

of planting, hoeing and

humming in hope

feeling earth

dust between my fingers flitters away in breeze i barely register

sand between my toes tenders memories of childhood joy

garden earth between my palms enriches past and future

for garden dirt that supplied our table promises to feed our family's souls

a trice or two

gentle moments catch us unaware

draw us into knowing we share

something deeper than words

shifts into catching our breath

the ululation of screech owls

claws raw the wounds of loss

while mourning doves coo companionable comfort

a sunbeam pierces thunderhead

to light a path between heaven

and earthling and soft peace settles

on a mourning gasp

moments without preparation

startle us into assurance

beyond grief or fear, if only

for that instant

aurora shield

without the swirls, draping sheets

and dancing colors

this time I was less captivated

by the eerie magic of aurora

but more impaled by the raw power

of these stiff probes of hazy light

that arch from horizon to horizon

battle-strength powers enclosing me

as earth’s magnetic field defends

its helpless life forms

should a weakness or break occur

within that spherical shield

the sun’s tantrum would – will –

engulf us in fiery fury unimaginable

shafts of northern lights

shafts of northern lights

arch from horizon to horizon

muted white, at times tinged

with green or pale maroon

rather than pink but strangely still

as though embedded in faint haze

third night of aurora borealis

from our sun’s upheavals, flares

of intense, chaotic storm

hurling fierce, solar winds

against earth’s electro-magnetic shield

how little we comprehend

our fragile haven amidst

the battle of titanic forces waging

so close around us

aurora borealis reprisal

 faded but discernible

because a repeated pattern

of the night before

brightening along the northern

pine tops, centered below

the north star as dusk sky

to the southeast

settles into indigo

gradually that northern glow

grow turquoise, then aquamarine

and haze lines, long in reaching

toward the zenith, become distinct

some carrying dull greenish tint

other rays blushing like youth

caught glancing toward a centerfold

but still able to protest

“No, Mom, I never saw anything – it

was just there.”

bright sequined waves

glitter, glisten, ripple, dance

sparkle with reflected sunlight

painfully bright sequins

flash the passion of the coastal waters

in multiple competing tangos

as each breath of wind salsas

to its own drummer

dipping and swirling partner waves

in frantic and yet enticing embrace

in awe watching

in awe watching a bobcat kit

even younger than my first

lynx rufus visitor was years ago

newly independent but already

patient watching, watching

but not still, he sits on haunches

bobbed tail barely behind him

floretted forelegs extended

under muscular shoulders

pointed ears erect over

squarish head turning as he

watches, surveys, twists, watches

and then—he is gone

so young, but knowing

how to hunt, he is gone

                 live reporting, mjNordgren  5/9/2024  N