down that path

sadness overwhelms, lying down

under the weight of chaos

of knowing that without foundation

of adherence to respect and truth

with the inability to communicate

let alone trust

with the acceptance

of ‘alternative facts’ and unsubstantiated accusations

there will be no security of self

yet we rush to go down that path

though we learned where it takes us

only eighty years ago

twisting stripes

poor clown, reduced to attacking only

with inuendo, accusations and raw lies,

exposes Bluffo as the shell he has made

of himself—a common bully without

substance or integrity so all his gains

are but pain to the growing numbers

of people who have not yet realized

what they have lost by giving up

their own self-worth to admire his ‘strength’

our stars and stripes twist toward

swastikas

taking flight

grandniece will fly tomorrow

to her husband in Turkey

we can only send our love

and prayers for joy

in such a new adventure

sunrise artisans

small, silvered tent covers

tilted between tufts of grass

sparkling with captured dew

bits boasting in dawn’s slant light

gone within hours as the day warmed

the work of spider artisans

doe not fear

another doe checking out my grass

and weedy lawn this morning

such a privilege to have them come

unafraid so near my porch – and me

Sol sleeping in

muted by a stillness that smothers

the breeze leaves pine boughs drooping

waiting for animation, for sign of life

even early morning colors patinaed

with blue-gray, drugged to slumber

Sol sleeping in long past dawn

After Fasting

After Fastingreading a haiku by Robert Kratz

Hunger forced the doe closer to Man’s strange, straight-sided buildings so unlike Nature’s gently curved lines. She had been fasting by choice to remain near her whimpering fawn. But this dawn, he had grown still and cold. She had risen, finally, to shuffle as she could toward the smell of abundant corn. She had always feared Man, but she was too weak not to dare what was nearby for the taking.

The doe crept forward, trembling, then stopped, shuddering. A dog barked. The silence of the Meadow beyond beckoned, but it was so far.

Again, the dog barked, and was joined by the sharp yips of a smaller hound.

 The doe bound away, then staggered as she could toward the Meadow.

yearly anticipation

 chill these last few nights

welcome after torrid days

awaiting long summer of hot

days and nights and the longing

for autumn

computer ornery

the computer works faster  than i do

especially if i’ve brushed a key

i did not want to

semi-commanded, it rushes to print

a 358-page manuscript while i hunt

frantically for ‘Settings’ to yell “STOP”

and then, when my heart has returned

to normal pace, it creates a blank area

within the document i am listening to

for final edit – a white space it does not

permit me to correct

argggghh!

quietly herself

a slender doe is nearly on my porch

with outstretched neck she could ring

the windchimes hanging from the glass

deck cover, but she is too busy

picking at tender new shoots of grass

i sit at my desk, not ten feet from her

but am disguised by desk and shelves

and nothing to her, which is just

the way i love it to get to watch her

quietly herself

hot air summer starting

Mt. Adams profiled by sunrise

Sol now farther north on my horizon

dawns still chilly but quickly warming

under the nation’s heat dome

of rancor, mistrust, and ill-will

whispered hope

whispered hope

in a world of shouted promises

worth every penny of neon

they are written on

sunshine after gray rain

sunshine this morning after gray

days of sudden, intense showers

how dependent we humans are

on that sparkle of warmth and light

for inner joy to give us hope

glaring standard

friends with mettle tell me

only after i ask

what calamities

have near-felled them

their courage not to whine

makes all the more glaring

and pathetic the current standard

of men’s behavior

into feisty life

with thoughtful feedback from editors

i have new concepts of what to omit and

what more to include in Freddy’s Wake

so, i am again deep into murmuring

dialogue to myself as i wake up

bringing the characters to feisty life

within myself before i can put

their words onto paper

before we will see them on stage

plugging along

years of every day work

still waiting for the overnight success

i’d come to believe in the value

of what i create if only from reactions

of individual judges – sometimes only

one or two out of a panel where

the others, equally competent, ask

“What the heck is going on here?”

still, it’s like the occasional par in golf

even a few discerning my intent

is enough to bring me back again

and again

somber to sparkle

flat, somber cloud field settled

over the upper valley drizzling rain

onto our evergreens and meadow

early this morning

finally, the sun broke through gray

to sparkle small drops clinging

to tallish grass

not warming the chill but lending

hope for joy to spread into the day

“I can fly!”

graduation is like that small flutterby

flapping red wings, flashing sunshine

crying, “See me!  Look upon

what I have accomplished!”

a moment of realizing self-worth

a high point or a gathering of strength

preparing to take on further challenge

a ceremony only enhances the feeling

of being of value and able to assume

the next stage of adulthood knowing

the foundation earned

stages of loneliness

thrilled to have my stage play admired

by one of the best playwrights

and scriptwriting teachers in the country

we will be meeting to talk it over

for ideas to expand it to a full-length

production and cut down the cast

to manageable size but the dialogue

and the characters are “strong”

and i glow in praise i seldom hear

writing is such a lonely calling

have a ball

youthful energy loose on sandy beach

focused and released with ball in hand

tapped, punched, hurled, batted, flung

against a wall, toward a teammate

at a friend-now-competitor-enemy

arced, curved, straight at, or near miss

requiring diving catch for points

for laughter, bonding and high spirits

a simple sphere gives life and purpose

and, at times, translates into respect

and joy in this globe of Earth

which gives and sustains our lives