Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Stitch or Dibble?

I have  sewing I want to do
yardage bought, pattern tested
but the world has gone all
sunny balmy -
last chance to prune the pear
and the green house is warm,
I have sowing I want to do.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Lick It Quick!

Cool drip slips 
down the back of my little finger
maple syrup slithering 
off a toasted, buttered croissant 
eyes-closed delicious.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Counter Still Life

Red-lidded gallon jar with a 
snow of fine flour on 
the clear glass shoulder,
lump of shining dough
lying in scattered flour,
scarred maple rolling pin
with one handle frozen up.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Monday, April 8, 2013

Announcing April


In the roadside hawthorne top
on a twig between opening leaf wads
a rufus sided towhee throws back it’s head
angles it’s beak wide against gray sky
blasts its musical plastic rattle whistle - 
kddrrrreeeee!...kddrrrreeeee!...kddrrrreeee!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

April Afternoon


Green gold west light
slanting across 
stubby pasture grass
across pine slope
under indigo black 
cloud bottoms.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Pruning


I’ve been out in the damp gray
edge-of-freezing morning
with my new red-gripped secateurs
puzzling through pruning the pear tree.  
Up the ladder to look at each twig
down the ladder to look at the whole tree.
Back up the ladder to snip here, snip there.  
One decision after another,
Take it or leave it? This limb or that?  
Take out crossovers, take out verticals,
take the obviously dead, and the worst
of the green and gray lichen crusted.
Try to shape branches for graceful reach
horizontally radiating from the trunk.
Most of the time there is no good choice
on this tree contorted by years of neglect 
and my own early mistakes.   Breath deep.
It doesn't have to be perfect
just take out the congestion
and let light in to the heart.