Bells of the Cascades 35th Anniversary

so many former BOC players in the audience

joined the current performers

thrilled to remember the skill and bonding

of having become the instrument as each plays

individual notes of the overall handbell instrument

Matthew Compton’s “Lumen Fidei” celebrating

the experience of the power of music to take a person

beyond self into being a part of so much greater

never quite timely

so few projects in this real estate sale endeavor

have come to completion in a timely manner

today’s garage door seal is no exception

and i should have expected that to be the case

despite its grainy appearance, it is not wood

and steel needs a different bar to be attached

despite his van loaded with tools, gadgets

and parts, the technician did not have what was needed

but he did measure so the next appointment i make

should bring a seal to the concrete and limit

the access of voles to the interior of the house

sigh

needing advertisement

sun-lit turquoise, yellow and orange

glass  bulb filled with nectar

but without any red to announce

is put among the potted flowers

for their pleasure

a little imagination does wonders

those of us who see people

animals and whole settings

portrayed by slowly moving clouds

are delighted by the “kissing camels”

especially as highlighted by rays

of a jovial Colorado sun

in the Garden of the Gods

of course, they are camels – we can see

their humps and elongated heads

stretched forward to show their affection

one for another

of course, cloud or rock camels would be

affectionate – our world is joyous

with unexpected moments of fun

wonder and awe

bonds of laughter

laughter is the bond that melds

our family’s souls because we love

have learned we have courage

and can rely on our judgement

and each other

Pacific reflects blue, grey-green

ocean this day reflects blue sky

as when it earned its name, Pacific

how often, though, it belies

any reference to gentleness

when grey-green waves heave

and thunder against

the rocky shore of my Oregon

that i am warned

not to turn my back in disrespect

of the power of its willful moods

more in tune with Nature

than i can comprehend

no fruit from my labor

frustration with my computer

when changing my address

on the purchase form triggered

fraud alert at the credit card company

all that time filling out the form

only to have payment declined

arghhhh

but the lady at the fruit company

was finally able to navigate the gift

with a different credit card

big, but not so beautiful

big, beautiful bill

containing this time the secret

prohibition on the courts

to cite for contempt

which is their primary weapon

of enforcement

ah, what we hide in the heap

of overwhelmingly large

in hopes no one will find it

to weed it out

organization

(a dream and someday hope)

organized is not a word i know

a great deal about except as

a hope for the future

yet, slowly, so slowly, i begin

to see small areas of counter-top

and book shelf that remind me

that those surfaces were there

before i piled them high

with files and books and promises

to myself to soon get organized

moving on

closed down now with rain

after three days of threat

and low clouds that allowed

the air show to go on

the skill displayed, the crowds

thrilled and awed and gung-ho

so our elite jet pilots can move

on to the next town to overwhelm

with their unique public relations

jets mesmerize

a jet fighter flies low over the airfield

upside down

another passes over the air show crowd

low and far too slow

barely maintaining enough speed

to keep aerodynamic

another makes a pass, then,

with G forces impaling the pilot

against his seat, climbs vertical

into low-lying clouds

then two invert and pass

each other in opposite directions

then three in close formation trail

red or white smoke, then four, then five

and finally, six leave red, white, blue

amid roaring sound

incredible displays of courage and skill

to thrill the public and encourage

the public to support our military

gentle lady alone

gentle lady sat alone for days

before she would wave back

yesterday i stopped to talk

with her and watched her smile

this morning i took a table for six

and bade her come and sit with us

her smile grew wider as she met

and interacted

air(minus planes) show

low clouds thick as raw wool

blanket the community enticed

by advertising to gather at the airport

for the annual air show with jet

formations and aerobatics,

antique by-wings, wing walkers,

military planes and fireworks

and tomorrow forecasts rain

ah, me, could this be the year

there will be an air show

without airplanes?

answer with quiet

 answer with quiet and now i see

ways i could have done that

but at the time i only knew

how much time, effort and money

i had put into setting up the sale

so that my family would have help

since i can no longer do as much

as i want to do to help them without

risking an incapacitating stroke

my defense position is anger

bless the lord that my daughter’s

reaction is gentleness

she kept me laughing, and quiet                                          

emotional depths

i’m reading book after book

of play scripts to begin to feel

comfortable writing what

my imagination pictures

but i can find no magic formula

so few scripts lean hard on logic

instead, the moving ones glide

atop emotional connections

that carry me to places within

that i seldom visit on my own

opportunity to contribute

At the estate sale, a man fingered

the dust on the item he chose

I mentioned that we did not charge

extra for the dust, but he seemed

unsatisfied. Alisa then consoled him

by promising that is was ‘antique’

dust, so if he cared to make

a contribution…

i’m fat; how can i be invisible?

i appear to be invisible now

i wait over an hour past

my appointment time while

the nurse calls patient from

the lobby without even making

eye contact let alone explaining

to me why, after the long wait,

i am seeing someone else

rather than the physician

Sweet Sandy

sweet Sandy gave us water bottles

each choir member getting favored color

and name typed out ahead of time and

glued to the plastic when she knew

which bottle should go to which singer

Sandy does such things between tasks

she’s voluntarily taken on  

for the running of the church

She laughs when thanked and says

‘It’s nothing,’ but it is something more

wonderful than she can know

dear sol

dear sol, settling north

along our horizon, appears

to have definitely decided on cooler

weather for the summer

but, this morning, seems a bit lax

in filling the sky with color,

evidently satisfied to streak

his entrance with mauve, cerise, tangerine

and a bit of gold

look behind you

 musk must mess with us

believes only he knows best

sees not his damage