Hanging on

 

Hopelessly

trying to thrive

with too little

too little soil

too little time?

Or

Growing

despite it all

finding

 a slender 

purchase

and blooming

201/632

Whimsical sea

 

The gulls glide

in serene circles

A school

of darting fish

in a blue

blue sea

200/631

Undimmed

 

Though gray

has smudged

the sky

and rain obscured

in sheets

that travel sideways

like a curtain pulled

Autumn's radiance

is undimmed

A burnished rainbow

green

to gold

to crimson

199/630

The same sky

 

The storm
appears
distant
Over there
not here
Your perspective
is skewed
the sky
too vast
to measure
It isn't raining
out of a clear sky
You just
didn't realize
it's all the same sky
the same storm
198/629

Keep blooming

 

I need to be like you

though ragged

and frost-threatened

neglected

then drowned

in a downpour

you keep

blooming

197/628

Left to my own devices

Holding that grudge

like a soiled handkerchief

Turning the cold shoulder

yet smoldering inside

Angry

Anxious

Nursing hurts

Counting missteps

Banging my head

against the wall

Burying it

in the sand

Embracing

the bomb

of my own destruction

Take a breath

Look at the sky

Ask for guidance

forgiveness

grace

Stop

just

stop

196/627

After the rain

After the rain

the grass

regains

its emerald

a brilliant foil

for ruby

amber

and gold

a shimmering

jade bowl

to hold

Autumn's jewels

195/626

Cloud Dreams 9/23/2020

 

A benevolent
bearded
father
A grim
ghoolish
watcher
The demon
that haunts
the between
dream
and awake
Moon beams
between
bars
of a lonely prison
Sunlight
streaming
through
a cool forest
194/626

Circling

The day

frays

the sky

faded

at the horizon

smudged

with smoke

or worn

by time

Birds

are gathering

but

one dark shape

floats

circling

not ready

to alight

or

to move on

194/625

Rest

If I could

curl up

in a fallen

leaf-cup

a crimson bed

hidden

in late 

summer grasses

sleep

with the bees

and the gray

tree frogs

hidden

til spring

when all

is reborn

193/624

 

Autumn whispers

The aspens

whisper

Autumn

is coming

Their leaves

golden fans

spiraling

to the ground

Already

the grass

is gilded

with the first

of the fallen

192/623

Which way

Do the flowers

count the days

til frost?

Do they fear

winter?

I know

they open to

dawn

and curl up

to rest

come evening

I know

they follow the sun

191/622

Riverside

 

Riverside

where the rocks

are summer dry

but the flowers

have tipped

into autumn

Drowsy wasps

hover

and grasshoppers

leap

moments before

my footfalls

The air is cool

not yet sharp

and the sun is low

but still warm

190/621

Numbered

 

How many

sun-dappled

afternoons

How many

visits

under the trees

How many

lazy conversations

before

bare branches

gray skies

and snow?

189/620

On the wing

Wings outstretched

a hawk floats

joy in its glide

drifting

a long 

slow

curve

into the blue

188/619

On the wind

 

Summer lingers

or malingers

sultry

or sulking

golden

or brassy

ripe

wanton

blowsy

blown

like milkweed

adrift

on the wind

187/618

Summer's return

Summer's

playful feint

a balmy afternoon

The grass breathes

a toasty scent 

and insects

drift by

lazy in the heat

But the trees know

autumn is upon us

They lift up handfuls

of crimson

and gold

to the glaring

blue sky

186/617

 

From miles away

 

Now

everything is

sunny

in your world

but

from miles away

come the signals

of not-distant

misery

suffering

close enough

to dim the blue

here

their loss

is yours

is ours

185/616

Know your blessings

 

These clouds

heavy with rain

are a gift

Others scan

a crimson horizon

for even a hint

of what obscures

the sky here

Not just

my sky

Not just

my sun

Our earth

weeping

burning

184/615

Drops

 

Not tears

but jewels

or even the glass beads

we threaded on strings

to make friendship bracelets

or each drop

a moist kiss

left on blushing

petals

a soft greeting

from the clouds

a gentle

goodbye

183/614

Between seasons 9/10/2020

 

Between seasons

or all

In the blue

spring's first

warm afternoon

or early summer's

before

long days

under sweltering

brassy skies

The trees

still green

but

a glimpse of gold

among thickest leaves

hints

at autumn

soon

182/613

Inside 9/9/2020

 

Through
the window
is as close
to green
as I've been
today
Through
the clouds
as close
to the sun
Hiding
from 
the chill
of the moment
Dreaming
of warmer
days

181/612

Upside down ocean

 

The overcast sky

an upside down ocean

where cloud ships

ride

cloud waves

that break

foamy white

on an indigo

cloud coastline

180/611

Embers

 

As a gloomy chill

settles

into the afternoon

sending us all

shivering

to our sulking corners

I close my eyes

to recall

your blazing dawn

Lady Sun

179/610

The artist

 

First

she gilds the clouds

transformed

to transluscent poppies

Next

rays of indigo

sprialing from

the horizon

Soon

even the ordinary

is washed

with dawn colors

Lady Sun's

momentary

masterpiece

178/609

The remains

 

The remains

of my summer

garden

a scattering

of spent soil

a few withered

blossoms

a crumbled leaf

and memory

color

before winter left

for the season

hope

then 

growth

then

blooming

177/608

Cicada seasons

 

We turn the calendar

to a new page

and begin

our arbitraray season

new duties

new routines

but the cicadas

still sing summer

their hopes lifted

in chorus

their season

too short

but not yet

at an end

176/607

Cloud companions

 

Let me drift

with you

cloud companions

be as light

as you

as swift

or languid

as mercurial

as insubstantial

floating

free

and freeform

175/606

                                                                                                          

Green invasion

 

The green

invasion

never stops

cracks in pavement

between bricks

creeping past

white picket borders

and punturing

fabric blanketing

neat flower beds

climbing

powerlines

weaving through

chainlink

exploding

all barriers

gone to seed

that will ride the wind

into

the next

green season

174/605

Upside down dawn

 

In this

upside down world

the sky

is a cloud-softened

abyss

and the stars

on the ground

like hovering

fireflies

173/604