Sisters

Late to bed
Sister Moon
waits
weary
for early to rise
Lady Sun
to emerge
fresh
and fiery

Fleeting Summer

The leaves

suggest

their coming fall

spring vibrancy

fading in

July haze

Why squander

moments

in motion?

Hold still

and maybe

they won’t

pass

so quickly

Quicker than the camera's eye

My afternoon

river companions:

a bumblebee

who raced me

to a field of 

bobbing daisies

a monarch

who fluttered

over milkweed

dipping

beside

the water

a turtle

wide as a

dinner plate

sunning itself

neck craning

to give me 

a wary eye

before slipping

off its rock

and away

Overcast

Lady Sun

slips

radiant fingers

along 

the hazy edges

of morning clouds

A playful reminder

she hasn’t

abandoned us

Two Sides

I: Outside

Sinking into

this moment

the close heat

the gathering clouds

the scolding birds

the drumming cicadas

Everything smells

fragrant 

and ripe

steeped in July’s juices

and the air

tastes sharp

like vinegar

and wildflowers

II: Inside

The city sounds, too

Cars speeding by

windows shut tight

against the heat

Folks rushing home

to conditioned air

retreating indoors

to an artificial atmosphere

as sterile

cold

and colorless

as the moon

Deep summer

Drowsy summer

creeps

into my bones

and brain

urging

stillness

reflection

sleep

Even Lady Sun

lingers

in her cloudy bed

blinking away

moments

ticking off

to autumn

Reflection

Dawn’s reflection
in the moving mirror
of the rushing river
This moment
dawn
reflection
water
nothing
is still

Clearing

Lady Sun

gathers

the rain

in her arms

billows

pillows

remnants

and threads,

shaking off

stray drops

as she tidies away

cloud

and spreads out

a pale blue

afternoon

Illusion/Delusion

From here
from now
this world
appears
broken
planed away
fading
Instead
it is only
overshadowed
by our earthly
ambitions
Behind the dark
the light is
unchanged