(Red, gold, brown, green and)

Red, gold, brown, green and
orange leaves form mosaics
on neighborhood lawns.

(And just like that,)

And just like that,

I have a new 

skin tag.

Summer Simplicity

As summer begins to
close her eyes in
exchange for fall's
awakening, I want
to remember these
days; what it feels
like to slip into
sandals, and hop into
the car without a
jacket and drive to
meet some friends
with Tennessee's green
hills in front of me and
the sun on my back.

(His putrid, pungent odor)

His putrid, pungent odor
soured the symphony show
for me.

(a cardinal and a bluebird)

a cardinal and a bluebird
sitting on a white fence
suddenly feeling patriotic

(summertime snow)

summertime snow
cottonwood seeds
float, flit and blow

(morning tea after)

morning tea after
the morning rain
drop after drop

Sticky Fingers: Like a Kid in a Candy Store

Dear Co-worker:

My candy dish is a gesture of goodwill -- meant to be
visited a couple of times during the workday in moderation --
not a vehicle by which to fill your child's entire Easter basket.

Signed,

Your Supposed Sugar Mommy

(Your love is like a)

Your love is like a

silky ribbon repairing

the breach in my heart.

The Beauty of Music

Unlike former fashions, old albums
never go out of style. I can pop a
CD in the player that smacks of
poodle skirts, bell-bottoms, leg
warmers or leather pants without
worry of how that might reflect on
my personal fashion sense. Music
bursts through barriers of time and
trend. It cannot be contained or
confined to years, decades or centuries.
Music lives on, as long as you play it.

(new year)

new year
new courage
fresh as the snow

Without a Honk

There were four
of them -- four
graceful geese
gliding over 65
North as the four-
lane interstate
backed up
farther and farther
south. In the midst
of the two-accident
Tuesday morning
turmoil, just as I
began to grip my
steering wheel
in frustration, I
saw the quartet
breezing over
all four lanes
of traffic without
a honk of their own --
so soft, so peaceful,
so content; so intent.
I watched them
split into two pairs
and continue on their
January journey,
as I adjusted my
hands and then
my attitude, without
a honk of my own.

Monthly Arts Forum Launch

I am thrilled to announce that, tonight, I will launch a brand new monthly arts forum, Show Your Work, with my friend Andrew Nelson.  I plan to read at least one of my poems tonight and look forward to enjoying the work of fellow artists of all types and stripes.

---------------------

Show Your Work: A Monthly Arts Forum

Every Second Thursday, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Out on the Lakeshore, Holland, Mich.

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If you're in the area, please feel free to join us!

(I am like porcelain)

I am like porcelain --

tough and delicate

all at once.