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persons v people
persons i can talk with and care for
people tend to gang up and forget
to honor the ones opposite
as human beings worthy of respect
i cringe when my world gets ‘people-y’
because i do not enjoy fighting
but i’m good at it
what more can i say?
if wrinkles are interesting
i must be fascinating
if clean bad jokes make you smile
you’ll love conversations with me
if you know deep pain
you’ll find me a listener
why isn’t it ‘NO one is above the law?’
why do we put up with slandering
or belittling or outright lies?
why do tolerate ‘alternative facts’
when proof and truth can be
whatever anyone wants it to be
rather than what is mindfully
agreed upon?
why isn’t the rule of law what
we demand of our policy makers?
what have we given up and
what have we gained by doing so?
just a bit exaggerated?
on these hot days i try to picture
the Portland TV reporter standing
at Sylvan Hill with snowflakes
drifting around her and melting
into the wet sidewalk while she
exclaimed, “We’re reporting
from a white-out!”
play off
so many months of work
so many moments of frustration
with the computer
with finding feedback
with my ability as a playwright
until this morning
i gleefully
hopefully
relievedly
e-mailed ‘Freddy’s Wake’
to compete in the world
aaaaahh
that tomorrow i will consider
how it should have been done
i will leave for tomorrow to face
remember to respect
my eyes are tired as i work hours
at a setting on my play
while the summer heat
builds the allergy count
just outside my window
but i am not wielding a pickax
or tarring a road under the hot sun
so, i have little to complain of
when so many as worthy as i
are working in greater pain
in a jiffy
oil change was interesting
as i sat in my car watching
a half dozen black-uniformed men
check and measure, open, fill and close
haul out air filters clogged with
dirt and debris needing to be changed
efficient, thorough and courteous
so good to be serviced by people
who know what they are doing
weather prediction
orange color in the sunrise
promise of heat early in the day
enticement to stay home and work
on projects of welcoming neatness
(but i’d rather be on the go)
reacting to my phone’s ring
how long the telephone has haunted me
not for itself, or even for the sales
calls that take my time and energy
but (as i finally realized only recently)
because for years patients and friends
would call my public home number
by-passing the on-call system
of our physicians’ group
each time it rang in the evening
i cringed, hoping it was not a plea
for special attention i was too tired
to give graciously when i wanted
time with my family
these years of retirement are only now easing
what had always seemed
my strange reaction to my phone’s ring
book launch
re: Suns and Moons to Come, by Anne Stackpole-Cuellar
book launch
another writing friend has created
a warm, thoughtful book
this time, her third
a collection of her earth-
and freedom-defending poetry
just announced its publication
i cannot wait to learn
from its pages
who would have guessed
joy of caring for an animal pet
i would not have thought
could transfer to tending to plants
but i love needing to give the deck
flowers every morning enough water
to survive and thrive through our
ninety-degree days
nope, Elon
despite Elon Musk’s assertion,
empathy is not a disease
that is debilitating our nation
caring for one another is essential
to life unless one is arrogant enough
to believe anyone is greater
than lightning, flood, earthquake,
fire, virus, stroke, myocardial infarction
and working for each other’s wellbeing
merits satisfaction that amassing
any amount of goods does not comprehend
joy of the evening
gifts and laughter with loved daughters
over scrumptious supper of crab louis
testing out a grabber with magnetic
properties and using its bite-and-open
feature to simulate applause
to greater laughter as we work
a crossword puzzle together
in bonded caring and mutual support
i am the luckiest person
i’ve ever known
lesson from afar
refreshing early morning air
with enough chill to belie
the sun’s intention to teach
us, plant and animal, to acknowledge
nuclear reaction as power
even from a distance