Blog
Search the Blog
Categories
- (mis)communication
- 4th of July
- American flag
- Arizona
- Attenborough
- Bells of the Cascades
- Boy Scouts
- Budapest
- COLORS
- COVID
- COVID brain
- Characters
- Danube River
- Eagle Scout
- Eskimo
- European cities
- European streets
- Family
- Germany
- Good Friday
- Great Depression
- Italy
- July 4th
- Mailchimp
- Matthew Compton
- Mexico
- Mt. Hood
- Nature
- Nature plus whimsy
- Nature poem
- Nature poems
- Nature's beauty
- Nature's wildfires
- Nevada
- Nordic legend
- Northern Lights
- Olympics
- Oregon
- Pacific Ocean
- Pacific coast
- Poems
- Portland
- Recipe
- Relationships
- Research
- Rome
- Russia
- The Avocet
- Trillium Lake
- Trust
chill fingers
haiku
gray chill gnaws my joints
fingers ache raw multiply
but still fold to pray
the clowder
mollies and toms
tails vibrating in excitement
ear tuft ‘furnishings’ erect
purring, meowing, speaking
in more than one hundred sounds
cats gather
perception - not reality
haiku
fog splatters sunrise
droplets of tinted water
man perceives as sky
edging into winter
haiku
brittle-edged red-orange
erose maple leaf margins
sharp against late fall
stick to it
What is brown and sticky?
A stick
Not for me. My art teacher in 7th grade
taught me to look closely at the varied
colors in the bark until now i see
no solid brown but streaks of yellow
and bits of hazel, cinnamon, magenta
and purple-gray
seeing such fascinating variations
in the ordinary gives me a running
commentary on life filled with tiny
excitements and joy
i wake up happy
why
even as a child, i questioned
“why?” to my parents’ exasperation
believing, accepting without proof
or at least answers to simple doubts
left me shaking my head, “no” and
“how can that be?” and
“i don’t think so”
so claims on the internet without
evidence or confirmation
leave me wondering how
anyone can accept their truth
let alone act on their assertions
emotion-deafened
haiku
when emotion cries
reason whimpers to the wind
unheard, sharing naught
blue-blooded kraken
kraken changed my understanding
of bluebloods
which i’d always associated
with deprivation of oxygen
and a monied group elite too long
to remain vital, energetic and healthy
Scandinavian folklore present kraken
as strong, active, muscular menaces
from the deep ocean – probably based
on giant squid which attacked seafaring
craft and terrorized ancient sailors
giant squid, like fellow cephalopod,
octopi, have three hearts, large brains
and blue blood
and, although seldom seen, thrive
as animated, vital creatures
unassociated with decadence
need gratified
i needed to hear and see
the ocean
the drive to the coast, through
green-yellow-orange-red
and evergreen
readied my spirit
to take in rugged, gray beauty
of turbulent sea
quieting my soul with perspective
of being only a miniscule part
of the great I AM
tender encounter
trusting, trusted
because if i fear betrayal, i cannot
allow myself to be vulnerable
quiet
because noise and foolishness detract
from me, and even more from you
at peace
because that blessed state only comes
when i am still enough to listen deeply
hopeful
because whatever action that ensues
will – i hope – nurture all involved
fulfilling
as i am grateful tenderness has been
with young bobcat newly on his own
as he stopped to look, acknowledging
me without fear
with the run-away patch of daisies
in my yard as i walked away leaving
all to the new owners and they bent
with the wind, in promise
to be themselves in gift
with the rocky cliff at my back
as i came to realize we are made
of much the same elements
ill-informed actions
Oregon governor protests
that the commander in chief
is using a five-year outdated video clip
displayed on television news
to determine that Oregon needs
federal help in securing Portland
from flaming insurrection.
When the president’s use of Oregon’s National Guard is blocked
by a federal judge, our commander calls in California’s National Guard.
Where are the current president’s
daily security briefings so he is actually
aware of what is going on?