Acrobats

 

Leaves somersault

Just a flip or two

as if stealthily

making an escape

from 

the newly melted drifts

Lanky oak leaves

and maple leaf hands

A ball

of hydrangea blossom

How far

have they tumbled?

Where will tomorrow's storm

carry them?

Fresh Snow

 

Like

a million

ice suns

scattering

from my footsteps

myriad mirrors

reflecting

blue sky

the air

a river of chilled

stillness

Yesterday's

gray day

and long

dark night

forgotten

A trillion stars

fell

leaving their light

behind

Myself again

 

I go

looking for

myself

and find

my father

wandering ahead

in autumn woods

camara dangling

His mother

standing

under trailing roses

in a dress

that blooms

with yellow flowers

My mother's mother

who would forgo

a cool shower

to water her roses

wilting

in summer heat

Here

Under the blue sky

I feel them all

our mutual love

for the earth

welling in my throat

and I am

myself

again

Two Skies

Morning brings

two skies

dark

and grumbling

above

beaming

blue

Trees wear

two colors

summer green

and

autumn scarlet

Flowers bloom

as their neighbors

fade

Afternoon

will bring

buzzing heat

but evening

hints

at frost

to come

 

I got up for this

 

I got up for this

to stand

above

rippling waters

and contemplate

the reflection

of the full moon

to follow

two geese in flight

my heart 

climbing

with their wingbeats

to see the sun rise

and notice

how the clouds

embrace

the dawn

reflecting fire

in the east

and faint pink 

in the west

To breath

To be

Thunder somewhere

In a dark

corner

beyond streetlights 

startled

by a flash

of lightning

Above

the sky

is veiled 

in transparent 

clouds

broken

by star-speckled

pools

of blue-black

All is silent

but

thunder 

somewhere 

 

September Between

Summer

is drowsy

sleeping late

then nodding off

when Lady Sun

pulls the shadows

long

as she slips to bed

early