puberty

what golden chrysalis protects
what amber core unformed
a haze of tender metaphor
a thought
your wish
might yet
the silky evanesce
the bowl of chaste
the probe of hope
and soon an eye will open
then
we'll know
and all
will soar
to clammy heights
of bounding hearts
and fall!

The Day We Cried

It was such an ordinary day
like every other one
as I recall
no foreboding
and we each
went our separate ways
and thought of it
nothing more

I was in a store
when first reports were coming in
a madman shooting up a school
a maniac loose on the world
a mental patient with a gun
was shot but not soon enough

we don't know what was his cause
we don't know what set him off
we only know that there
were many killed
we only know who paid his cost

And we know this
as we add up the toll
we know from these precious
ones
that life has passed un lived
and we have not had time to realize
all that was lost

we are numb
and we are sad
and we don't know just what to do
one side says this
and one says that
there's no consensus
but we have lost

we have lost
and we are lost
we cannot cross the isle
to shake a hand
to compromise
to see the maniac
in us

Frozen Spring

sap has risen
and flowers bloomed
petals pink and white and pure
but cold the dawn
and flakes of snow
are falling, falling, falling

now

and petals pale are falling,
falling
falling

all around

Comes the dawn
sky clear blue
ice covered branches

now

the pure pink petals
have all been shed
and gone is hope

of spring

Consulting the "Oracle"

Every day my mind wanders to some trivial event of the past that I can no longer count on my brain to spit forth as it once did. Or some arcane bit of knowledge or "how to". My husband's newest question is "look up on Pinterest and see if they know how to ... This sends me to my keyboard to once again "consult the "oracle". Accessing information has never been speedier as with a few minimally accurate keystrokes we are able to pull forth what our brains can no longer supply. Amazing. Last night, for instance, I wondered who that guy with the great voice who does the Allstate commercial really is. I mean besides the "Allstate man". Turns out his name is Dennis Haysbert. See what I mean. Type in Allstate man and his name pops forth. Then you can go on and find out more about Dennis and his life, career, number of wives, children, and so on.

Last year Wikipedia voluntarily shut itself down for a day to let us know what life would be like without them. This of course was their way of nudging us to make a "voluntary" contribution to keep them running. Not to worry. Like, we'd let that happen! The problem with all this is we have access to more info than we ever really wanted. And I mean it. What a Pandora's box.

I have no excuse for not knowing so many things I wish I didn't have to know and deal with. Or wish I knew how to deal with. Or feel guilty about not having dealt with. Yikes! You get the picture?

On the over hand, it was ridiculously easy to renew my driver's license!

Hello!

My goodness! What a CRAZY world we live in. This is day one after another Colorado tragedy, in a movie theater of all places! The perpetrator has the same maniacal facial expression as the man who shot Gabby Giffords. The human carnage in this episode rivals all the other horror stories we can too readily call to mind: 9/11, Columbine, and the Oklahoma City Federal building, to name just a few. All we mere mortals trying to put one foot in front of another, and make it through our days have to wonder why someone with so much promise, and the apparent advantages would toss it all away for the thrill (what else could it be) of decimating innocent people. Having said all that I confess I was unable to watch any more of the television spectacle. It is too upsetting and I feel too much empathy for these victims to watch. I had the same problem with 9/11. All my friends, family, and the great cauldron of humanity out there please know that I hold you all in my thoughts tonight and wish everyone my best and I sincerely pray that none of you is ever involved in such a needless exercise of vanity and will.

Atlanta!

How did they do that?  That face encased within the glass that peers out so placidly, now after being viewed by countless thousands of museum goers to Atlanta's High Museum, is but one of hundreds of astonishing works.  The High is smack downtown Atlanta, a stone's throw from Turner Broadcasting and Atlanta's IKEA, and according to one web site at least 48 other  attractions - just in the downtown area.

Atlanta is a destination point worthy of exploration.  She has the vibe of a city, but the charm of your hometown.  As in any major metro area there are numerous different nuclei worthy of a morning or afternoon's consideration, and an abundance of good eateries and watering holes.  When I took this photo I had come to Atlanta specifically to go to the High for  an exhibition of Egyptian antiquities and found accommodations close to the stadium, negotiating a good room price, and free parking.  I was able to park without charge almost everywhere by being willing to do some walking.

As for the interesting figural on the wall behind the glass encased head, it is a huge snake's body with a human's upper torso and it is constructed from plastic salvaged from a land fill.  It has been on the High's wall for about twenty years now.

The breadth of captivating activities in Atlanta include world class shopping, antique auctions, and don't forget Six Flags over Georgia.  There is Stone Mountain Park nearby,  and some world class white water rafting not much farther  north of the city.

Please, do yourself a favor, if you haven't been to Atlanta, go!  

Once More Spring

Once more Spring has come and caught us up
unready spite of all we thought
that she would linger for a bit
behind in Winter's cool caress
but No!  And we are just becoming,
just now aware,
that she is here to stay,
for only just her fleeting days
this season
one of discontent
with things that are
not things that may.......
our hope for things to be
fulfilled,
for color schemes
and gardens full of hope untilled
but fertile in our bubbled brains
our hope for Spring to remain
but No!  She'll soon be on her way
and with her goes our firm resolve
to deal with problems yet to be
with Summer's tempest heat
when we will wilt and slink off
to the cool and look out upon
a parched and arid view
and wait relief from Autumn's cool
too soon gone
and then our old bones know
that Winter soon will steal this show
that Autumn brought.
I get ahead...for it is still Spring
and I will not dwell
on how quickly she'll depart
but get up now
and start
to make my hopes reality!

Election

I feel we pass into a great void
we out here upon the fringe
we not in the thick of it
one says this
and one says that
but who is to know
I've been fooled so many times
charisma counts
those lying eyes
and smiles
that pull you in
a dog could be the better choice!

Interface

Hints of Spring Spur On Gardening Plans

 As I take my morning walk, there is no doubt Spring seems to be trying to end winter prematurely and seducing us to begin our gardening projects. So much to do!  My husband has made the frames for four raised bed vegetable plots in our yard, so we are looking forward to a decent garden this year.  We are opening up more land to cultivation  so we could expand our plant selection and try something new.  At the moment we have strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, and a plant or two of squash and eggplant.  We have quite a few onions planted in the flower beds around the house.  I know that sounds strange but they've been in the ground already for several months through the winter.   I'm hoping they'll be harvest ready before too long.  The next succession of onions can go in the raised beds. 

At the moment everything looks unformed and ill defined.  It looks nothing like my friends' garden in NC with its mounded up furrow of rich soil developed over many seasons of cultivation, but I have to hand it to Joe (husband), who sought out and brought home a beautiful truckload of mushroom compost.  If any media is capable of growing plants, this substance has the look of being up to the task.  We compost everything left from our household that is recommended for composting.  Since there's only the two of us it would take forever to have enough fully composted material to sustain our garden.  We like to keep things as organic as possible and this is a tall order for Florida, with our poor soil and legendary insect population.

It would be nice not to have to fence but not possible.  Too many wandering critters.  I frequently see deer tracks on the beach.  Did I mention we live on a lake?  So a fence, even if it doesn't keep everything out, is a necessary deterrent.  We are still studying the fence issue.  The cranes are nesting now but soon I think they'll be back and I can't believe they'll leave those beds alone.  I don't think they'll fly into as small a space as it will be, once it is fenced.  I could be delusional too, haha!  They have cultivated my yard well in search of tidbits.

I also want to expand my herb space.  We love olive oil with fresh herbs, and grated cheese on a good artisan bread.  We use lots of Rosemary and it is such a carefree plant.  It is also such an attractive dark green.  Oregano is a very easy ground cover.  Basil is perhaps the easiest herb of all to grow, although not a perennial as the oregano and Rosemary are.  I love mint, but is a very invasive plant.  I'll have to think about that one.  It is a start!

Sandhill Baby

Baby showed up this morning
all alone on the lawn,
forlorn,
looking around, a 360 degree view,
skittish.
All his native senses sharp,
he looked toward the foggy lake,
a landscape in gray on gray,
bereft.
His parents have kicked him from the nest.
I put some seed out on the grass.
He ate his fill, then
stood for five minutes more,
his beautiful long neck,
long legs,
long beak,
pivoting slowly
as if to fix the scene.
Abruptly he leaped and off he flew
with his magnificent, ashen, feathery wings,
over the wall and across the beach.
I watched him soaring across the lake,
as the day became slightly brighter,
although still gray,
Baby,
on his way!

Unspecified

In these collected works
there is no adherence
to chronology,
Thank God!
So those who know me
cannot say
"Oh, I remember that flail!"
I've mixed it up to protect the innocent.
These utterances wear a more discrete
t-shirt over bare breast beatings,
and when my soul lies bare
it's not between the lines,
but lightly clothed
as is proper.
But you may take my angst
and fill with your blanks,
our blood is much the same.
You may identify
with a common thought,
even though our politics is at odds,
don't for one minute feel
a traitor.
I promise you all blood is red,
this I know,
I've seen my share!
We are much the same.
I hesitate to call you friend
because I am a prickly sort,
and we might not really get along
but,
and hold this thought close,
in the coming months the rhetoric
will grow progressively more strident,
but our goal, can we agree(?)
is to keep on moving forward.

Red Toes for Valentine's Day

Eyes open to a pale blue wall
From a sleigh bed of golden oak
My heart quickens in anticipation of
the gathering of three couples
combined years together, a hundred and forty
Three casual fisherman off in a boat
Three fish caught and then let go
Three women off to sight see and shop
Pass the flashing red maples with their new
spring growth
Pass pale tree trunks of the dried up swamp
Do a scenic tour through the college town
Tour the art museum with its hideous art
Do a bit of shopping then its back
to my house
Back past the bony trunks and maples red
Past skeletal pecan groves and bare myrtle branches
Back to find three men drinking red wine,
smiling
The three fish caught
And then let go
All in all a successful outing
A happy white dog is looking on
My Christmas tree in a plastic pot
improbably green after all this time
Valentines’ Day coming soon!
Three couples gather, heads of gray
That smiling white dog standing close by
Lest a morsel drop from a plate
Valentine’s Day is not far away.....
The first azalea is ballet pink!
I am tooled and died
As you admire
My scarlet toes
My Valentine’s day gift
to you
and myself!

No Thing New

I drove to town today
or what passes for
looking for some action
trying to keep from being bored
should have known.
All I found was the usual,
this place can be such a drag,
actually less than that,
not even a drag.
Have to work up to drag!
In the old church
now turned into a gallery,
hobby display for artsy types,
was only the clerk for the gift store,
who spent a few moments chatting,
thinks me pathetic I'm sure,
until two ladies with buying potential
wandered through the doors.
I left then.
My exciting morning had been spent,
repair man at the house,
trying to divine my dishwasher's....
I surveyed the intersection,
people stopping at the light
turning toward the city.
No one at the library,
doors closed tight.
What passes for a schedule
in this place
amazes me! This is a poor community,
no forty hour weekly workers here
unless you're with the school board.
So I just headed for home,
but when I got there
I just sat in my car.
My husband finally wandered out
and looked surprised
to find me sitting there.
There's an opening at the gallery tonight.
I'm going.
"Do you want me to go?" he said.
Suit yourself,
it's not going to be much
except,
maybe a chance.

Watermark

How high did it come?
See the mark just here?
Thats how high it came,
not as high as last year,
high enough I s'pose!

Like life,
over time the highs and the lows,
the crest of the water leaves a mark
so that those that come after can know
just how high
that water did go.

The water in my life
through one storm or another
life giving,
life taking,
leaving its mark,
a line or some evidence of loss
across a visage sixty plus.

The beauty of old age,
a friendly sage told me
just today,
is we're allowed our cynicism.
"Some beauty!"
was my reply.

late life job quest: Sandhill Cranes Come To Call

late life job quest: Sandhill Cranes Come To Call: When the bugle sounds,I know the Sandhill Cranes have arrived, when I see them land, it makes me smile. They land like a parachutist, legs s...

Sandhill Cranes Come To Call

When the bugle sounds,I know the Sandhill Cranes have arrived,
when I see them land, it makes me smile.
They land like a parachutist, legs splayed out ahead,
but never a tumble, they are grace on stilt legs.
With forward bending knees they approach their spot,
They know they are welcome and they bugle “what's up”.
“Good morning” I call as they strut and pose.
They show me their profile and wary gold eye.
I must provide a bird seed buffet, but they are my prize,
with their magnificent size and their wings’ six foot span,
their fluffy gray plumage, and their little red hats.
Walking like an Egyptian frieze.
Such an elegant bird!
Mother Nature’s yard art!
So these three come to call, mom, dad and baby in tow.
Soon they’ll be on the nest and the baby will go
off to find his own Sandhill mate…….
Hope next year we’ll get to see a few more.