The Dusk Winds

I sat out today when the monsoon stirred the air

its wild whip breath of dragons 

startling in intensity 

I breathed the fresh washed air

studied the runes of stones 

kicked up by the dog 

watched planes climb into clouds 

heading out west into the setting sun

dusk winds sway cottonwoods

like ballgowns descending a staircase

somewhere out there a big dog barks ferociously

its fur rainslick in someone’s backyard 

I could be in the quiet behind the house

but the oak keeps whispering lines from old movies

while the rain water rises from everything to rejoin the air 

Flowers of Spring

 May is almost at an end. I am out in the garden watching dragonflies and hummingbirds. I hope you are similarly enjoying the last mellow days of this gentle season. 

Flowers of Spring

Mid-March brings the daffodils 

daffadondillies my father called them

their word was also naturalized 

in the off months under cover of dirt they spread their palette of yellows and oranges

ready to spring out of the cold

Joined soon by apple and pear blossoms

tulips rise reluctantly from their slumber

emerging pollinators buzz about as April rolls in

buds appear on the lilacs 

turn into wands of flowers

Not only flowers but a proliferation of fresh trembling leaves on the aspen 

coins of the realm on sturdy stems

Rhododendron magentas

miniature clusters of grape flowers appear with the fancy new chartreuse leaves

buds upon the oak produce clusters of leaves veined as if by rivers

leaves that become the size of your hand

Roses and lavender on the return

cosmos, amaranth, borage

suddenly it is a race as the iris rush to the forefront for the month of spectacular 

the flowers of May they dominate the garden whilst hollyhocks send up their majestic spires 

they are the trumpets of the garden orchestra

delicate white baby’s breath blooms with abandon

In the corner the chaste is preparing for June

blue wheat is waving its heads 

grasses are seeding in pastels 

flame headed poppies 

fragrant alyssum 

lavender fragrant fountains

All this is the introduction to June

the garden fills itself up 

wild birds anoint the air with song

hummingbirds flit like giant bees

living green right in the center of the city.

Motherbeing

The tree is mother to the leaves

Vine mother to the grapes 

Rhizome mother to the iris

The philosopher said mothers are our social scapegoats

read parts of The Bald Soprano out loud from his stage

He minced up and down 

wove the spell of the absurd into the room

Revealed the Mother is an Earth power She seizes control to reshape some random outcome

into a work of art and 

*Pay attention here*

her mother’s intent 

her power is the cast in hardstone 

opposite of indifference

Herewith I embrace this quality

Humbug to the attitude mothers must love unconditionally 

Whoever thought that up probably keeps a vial of fairy dust on hand

Believes you can think away cancer

No

there is truth in the world 

let us call her the Iconic Mother

she leans into the good 

crafts the best possible outcome

from the tissue of happenstance 

No cream puff pastry woman 

to be consumed at your leisure

partaking of her generosity of giving herself away 

Iconic Mother is the roots deep to the

groundwater fed hardwood you

child are the leaves attached by her lifeforce 

If you were robbed of her

too soon to have memories of her voice and touch

know she is here in the breeze

caress of ocean on soft sand

force of waves

fury of the storm 

delicacy of flower petal

If you have discarded her from your life

her earth being not a match to your measure

my own heart twists on that barbed wire for both of you

To every transgression there is not a single solution

to many bizarre turns there is no return

We move forward only 

let eyebrows shrug

close hands around those memories we ourselves choose

or make

the heart bends to the songs we sing the heart

does not know the difference 

between remembered 

and shaped from our fears or wishes

nor does the soul 

#mothersday

The Worst Thing I Ever Did

The worst thing I ever did 

was to think that I could solve someone else’s misery 

In terrible hubris 

I waded into her life

a life I myself had brought forth

I tried to change things

I tried to change her

The worst thing I ever did 

was to rearrange her deck furniture 

you know exactly what I am referencing 

She is angry I shoved her into a lifeboat

The worst thing I ever did 

was to blame the iceberg

or was it to board that ship at all

How do we end this 

I have asked many times

yet the ship sailed long ago

her ruins lie in the deeps 

what was is over

in real life

yet will never be ended 

as long as the stories go on

regrets and their half lives

attach like burrs

The worst thing I ever did

was the last walk I took

along that hazardous path

as if anything that is over

could be undone.