(welcome scent on a)

welcome scent on a 

crisp, cold winter walk downtown:

warm, savory foods

 

(five neighborhood birds)

five neighborhood birds

chirping neighborly

from rooftop to rooftop

(You're like a rabid)

You're like a rabid

porcupine -- impossible

to safely engage.

(raucous roof ruling:)

raucous roof ruling:

sparrows playing hide and seek

in the rain gutter

summertime supper

potato chips and

French onion dip, sunshine, and

fresh watermelon

(walking by myself today)

walking by myself today
remembering all the walks
we took together

(startled by two birds)

startled by two birds
that jetted out of a newspaper box
just before I walked by

(the three fragrances)

the three fragrances
of the neighborhood: Downy,
lawn mowers and grills

(Red, gold, brown, green and)

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

(summertime snow)

summertime snow
cottonwood seeds
float, flit and blow

The Life Span of Love

from having butterflies
to sharing houseflies
to watching fireflies in our twilight

(Five wasps buzzed right in)

Five wasps buzzed right in-
to my face this afternoon.
They really bugged me.

Thieves of the Temple

My afternoon walk
was interrupted by
a vicious scene --
two black turkey vultures,
two agents of death,
two dark figures
hunched and hovering over
an innocent squirrel
in the middle of the road,
devouring every bit of life,
shredding every fiber of flesh,
mutilating every scrap of dignity,
annihilating every piece of providence,
poking and prying and picking and
pecking and plucking and probing
until the body was nothing but a hollow carcass,
just like my parents do to me.

(a cardinal and a bluebird)

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

(Trying to kill the spider)

Trying to kill the spider
on my steering wheel at 70 miles an hour
without killing myself or my fellow interstate travelers

(I danced with a bumble bee unwittingly)

I danced with a bumble bee unwittingly
during my afternoon walk
very carefully.

(Two bees)

Two bees
during mating season
gettin' busy

(clear blue sky)

clear blue sky
sun on my back
fresh breeze on my face

(Two bonny bluebirds)

Two bonny bluebirds
ushered me across the bridge,
one bird on each side.

(Two squirrels and two robins)

Two squirrels and two robins
scampered away through the trees
like Noah's ark escapees.