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!