(cardinal bathing)

cardinal bathing
under the coffee shop's
downspout

(The German Queens wave)

I was disappointed to learn that East Nashville's Tomato Art Fest does not include the Hot Tomato Haiku Contest this year.  I enjoyed writing the following piece while still hoping the festival would add the contest to their lineup.

The German Queens wave
red flags and boas brave from
a Germantown rave.

Another Work Poem

In Memoriam: This is the third in a series honoring the soon-to-be defunct Borders bookstore.  While at work, I often daydream about escaping to a bookstore or coffee shop.

I write my best
poems at work on
company stationary
and company time
on rainy Fridays when
all I want to do is
escape to a coffee shop
or bookstore and sip
the day away surrounded
by books, magazines
and literary dreams.

Note: This is one of the pieces featured in my latest chapbook, Sugar and Spice and Nothing That's Nice, a collection of tea and coffee poems co-authored by Randy Foster.

Bookstore Boar

In Memoriam: This is the second in a series honoring the soon-to-be defunct Borders bookstore.  I wrote this poem a few years ago in the Brentwood (Tenn.) Borders cafe.

"We have a no-snoring
policy," she assured me
from behind the counter.
The large man in the
true blue sweat suit and
camouflaged vest had been
disturbing my reading for
10 minutes and counting.
The deep, nasal vacuum
vortex sounded more like
an industrial machine
than a man. The barista
called for the manager
as I angrily took out
my notebook to write.

Bookstore

In Memoriam: I wrote this poem a few years ago in Borders about Borders.  I'm having a hard time coming to terms with the end of the bookstore's era.

The silence of readers reading,
the screech of the espresso machine,
the whispered conversations shared
between bites of bagel, biscotti and bisque,
each one a part of the quiet community --
learning, leaning and listening.

Note: This is one of the pieces featured in my latest chapbook, Sugar and Spice and Nothing That's Nice, a collection of tea and coffee poems co-authored by Randy Foster.