sliding up rough bricks
toward the cawing that cast it:
shadow of a bird 1 week ago

^{Last week}

Much to our chagrin
Her inflexibility
Leaves the house vacant


*


A flaw in the thaw
Accidental butter pork
Delicious mistake


*


Lava lake forehead
Clinging weak for the descent
Lung-dogs bark; restless


*


Our fingers outstretched
Toward a ring just out of reach
The wind in our eyes


^{This week}

Here in the quicksand
We’re dancing in slow motion
Legs polished and strong


*


Fingers tired, singed
We fold cranes, light new candles
Spin hope into wings


*


Maroushka doll dreams
Get smaller; sunlit pupils
Like pintop angels


*


Milking sacred cows
Skimming off gold bullion
Thicker than water 3 weeks ago

Spider silk harp strings
Dewdrops sucked into the air
Plucked by gold fingers


*


Scarlet felt flickers
Red apple becomes red bird
Little joys take flight


*


Choked up, spoken for
Warm blue stones, rough and tumbled
Give vocal cords pause


*


Spring storm clouds recoil
Pinkest cherry blossoms flinch
Rain down, become brown


*


The wind howls, hungry
Hard rain on dirty windows
New clearings, fresh paths


*


April reflections
Red lacquered jacket
Splashback puddle bliss


*


White elephants lurk
Heavy glitter bowling balls
The silver horse skull


*


Butter chicken sings
Garbanzo sirens, spices
Notes waft, stoke craving


*


Dusty and unlocked
Briefcase of yellowing mail
Silent stethoscope


*


Mirrored Frisbee thrown
Doppelganger future view
Far in the distance


*


Golden Lindt bunny
Silently tests my resolve
Belled, poised, thinly foiled


*


Flip a pocket coin
Put down the decisive knives
Cut our tightrope net


*


It’s incandescent
A lost cat claw on night seas
Swift silver dream scythe 1 month ago

Flight from a blizzard
She fights the long white lace shawl
Trailing behind her


*


Anxiety coils
In the depth of my belly
I wait and count scales


*


Sand dusts giddy cheeks
Gulls sob over harsh gray seas
Calm footprints draw pools


*


Clicking quietly
Three marbles warm in his hand
Incubated worlds


*


They’ve fallen asleep
Boat drifts, a lazy lily
Fingers trail ringlets


*


Her favorite paintings
Were on the soles of her shoes
She could walk for days


*


Warm from noon sunlight
Unwilted Forget-me-nots
Blues in white china


*


Chairs ache with wet moss
Old dirt mars stark tablecloths
Hushed trees gather round


*


All my dropped glasses
All those accidental shards
Glitter at my feet


*


Roots aching for soil
Fists strike unfamiliar doors
Hopeful for sugar 1 month ago

May April vacuum
The perpetually wet grass
Carpeting March days


*


Under melted snow
And silty dark hardened earth
Ancient seeds kindle


*


Milky way naked
Venus whirls slow in calm skies
Stirring the black holes


*


Tracing dirty words
Fingertips mar the mirror
Invisible ink


*


Forced apologies
Are five and dime store band-aids
In a surgeon’s hand


*


Awake and floating
Drifting below the thought waves
A sinking feeling


*


Too many boxes
Yearning for long lost treasures
Long since dispossessed


*


Life shines in young smiles
Reflecting shadowed cave gems
Returning their light


*


Juliet painted
Stars midtwinkle on your palms
Balcony blazing 1 month ago

Weak and cloud-headed
Chance image generations
Fuel haiku this week


*


Literate teapot
Tempests pack bittersweet bags
China spines shatter


*


Blue roof, silver cross
They gather outside the church
Laughing tug-of-war


*


Tangerine toned shirt
You perch on a wooden chair
Bird hands, tree shadows


*


Creepy wine haired doll
Too tight lace hugs fragile throat
Eyes like newborn mice


*


Behind beveled glass
His expression hard to read
Fingers splayed, unclear


*


Evening mango sun
Caught in treetop silhouettes
Lemon-light fringed clouds


*


Trapped albino squirrel
Well suited, bold buttoned men
Lock your small birdcage


*


Red glass butterfly
Floats between silk caked shoulders
Shrugs flutter rubies


*


Ink gloved, quizzical
Ten young foxes crush dried leaves
Off to the opera


*


Sheathed in scuba blue
Goldfish tease baby carrots
Seaweed spinach waves


*


Galleries of snow
Faint tracks, white as motel soap
Footprints in static


*


In backwards mirrors
Golden finches scratch your eyes
You won’t see past them


*


Sun through thirsty leaves
Implausibly contagious
Wild paper lanterns


*


Small girl struts away
Mittens hang from fat wool threads
Grey boots kick salt stones

^{Special thanks to a random image generator site for quick and dirty inspiration when I was feeling tired and uninspired.}2 months ago

with two small children,
bare legs and heads all winter,
she stands still as stone 2 months ago

It’s Friday again
No fairytale ending here
Just muddy boot prints


*


Through insistent rain
Cherry blossoms climb the hills
Damp but undaunted


*


We missed the parade
Saint Patrick served us snake meat
And green apple pie


*


Preoccupation
Orange ribbons tied too tight
Marmalade handcuffs


*


Footfalls land heavy
On the jellyfish ladder
We scale it with care


*


Shedding more than tears
Peeling ego onions back
Salt water, still deep


*


Desire to paint your
Vivid head ridden stories
Leaves my hands shaking


*


Grade three floral theft
Our exquisite perfume cast
Guilty low note hints


*


Blindly you stumbled
Cobbling bat leather boots
To avoid stubbed toes


*


They felled grand lime trees
Built tall uncomfortable chairs
And sat with sour thoughts


*


Effortless magic
He pulls sparks from the distance
Reveals things unseen


*


Countless new words spill
Over her lips; one hundred
Freshly fallen plums 2 months ago

Word wedges linger
Raw slices of uncooked pie
Half-mined thoughts waiting


*


Jailbreak sunshine crawls
Braving holes in long dark clouds
Threatening dewdrops


*


Garage sale painting
Deformed bluebirds caught midflight
Wagner is laughing


*


Dragged from dreams of loss
With a stubbed toe suddenness
That makes my heart limp


*


Glossy purple snout
The first March crocus breaks ground
Cues bluebell music


*


Palpable silence
Closing library quiet
Hushed eardrum heartbeats


*


Bliss struck kids astride
Mirrored carousel horses
Such perfect circles 2 months ago

the big Mystery
through peripheral vision
Oh, so elusive

Occasionally
we look deep into Her eyes
for a bright moment. 2 months ago

Rabbit rabbit run
March hare; a quicksilver streak
Four fleet lucky feet


*

Windy days draw breath
Shoot restless steely rainclouds
At pencil gray skies


*

Creeping on dark stalks
Caterpillar pedestals
Jet black seams take off


*


Teeth sink into red
Submerged in ruby oceans
Pomegranate ships

*


I’ll miss this young tongue
Lyrical nonsense whispers
Lovely pure laughter

*


Embroidering text
Imagination weaving
While last pages loom


*


Bags of irate bees
The caps-lock key inside jams
Crimson buttons lock


*


Puddles drown wet leaves
Flimsy boats tossed carelessly
Fallen yet graceful


*


How are nice poems caught?
With tea cakes; delicate lace
Not this spider silk 2 months ago

crystalline flowers
white blooms on brittle branches
sleeping trees adorned 2 months ago

a flood of black wings
charging through once-silent air;
heart thumps in their wake 3 months ago

Sucking out stained words
Bitter ink marks split pink tongues
Coiled around this block


*


Clearly we need light
Floating water-lily robes
Longing for April


*


Adrenal and bright
Passionate hummingbird eyes
Dart away, skittish


*


Peanut butter knife
Counters small battles unfed
Unsaid words fade fast


*


Sensing when I wake
Animals with quicksand eyes
Give chase through dim dreams


*


Leg raised gingerly
Old ally cat stalks sunspots
Pigeons can’t compare


*


Smooth stone beads drop down
Circle your neck; heavy, cool
Worn without counting


*


Goodbye, parched lions
Gold spun roars tear open hearts
Your tails remain high


*


Once a chrysalis
Now an empty husk drying
Near wet winged wonder


*


Glass of lazy wine
Three pieces of milk chocolate
Midnight tangerine 3 months ago

the object of this
exercise is exactly
that: exercise. 3 months ago

Love walks through the door
With twelve flame orange roses
Spurns rising fever


*


I tried to buy him
NeoCitran valentines
They sold me lemons


*


Alphabet soup cooks
Umbrella in a brainstorm
Words drop, boil over


*


The uncut cake waits
Cool, not too sweet, hungry for
Silver fork music


*


Photocopied kiss
Both departed long ago
Their light still shines past


*


Braids clipped with poodles
Giggles; goldfinch bright, transcend
Rose bubble gum pops


*


With minute kisses
My mood flips like mini-wheats
Landing sweet side up


*


Glacier blues pour forth
Pooling around cool jade shoes
Microphone static


*


Your wit nips; old cheese
Sharp as a southern saw-blade
A thousand small cuts


*


Loose teeth, deep pockets
Red hood framing canine grins
Basket overturned


*


Three bright koi appear
With the quick snap of a fan
Gold pleated gills glint


*


White deer stands stock-still
Under long lithe dogwood trees
Peppered with shadow


*


Fireball petals
Poised above greens and water
Flicker slowly, quenched 3 months ago

a dragon rises
in the early morning mist
so frigid and fierce 3 months ago

when being yourself
turns into a betrayal
where can you go then? 3 months ago

Here it is again
I left a piece of my heart
the recurring dream 3 months ago

fat petals of snow
bright beneath the yellow light
of the tram crossing 3 months ago

Hiding from hailstones
Beneath fusty playground wood
Our laughter melts ice

*

High school wrecking ball
Teenaged days in landfill piles
Dust clouds sting my eyes

*

Stopping to notice
Spaces between pinecone seeds
Lovely lemon pores

*

First came too bright stars
Then deep royal sunsets rose
Stained pale kneecap skies

*

Breath, lost amethysts
Lilies and a bumblebee
Inked in chilled wet skin

*

Soft flowered sock shifts
Piggies safe inside their house
No bacon tonight

*

Bathtub cinders spark
Golden citrus and almond
Soaks sleepy skin soft

*

Perfect wind chimes shine
Hanging in windowless rooms
Silent, still inside

*

Skipping stone smooth vows
Wearing holes in silver rings
Ripples circle hands

*

They’re bound for Vegas
Melted neon hearts cooling
Tempered rosy love

*

Still thirsty for life
We order the half full glass
With endless refills 3 months ago

Juxtaposition
turns out to be everything
that matters in life 3 months ago

February flips
Slowly stretching daylight for
Groundhogs and lovers


*


Snow capped cinnamon
Succulent whirlpool sweetness
Sucks intentions dry


*


Sheepish sleeplessness
Steel wool shepherds gently nudge
Lambs too weak to jump


*


Startling the air
Spiderwebbed piñata cracks
Relent to worn sticks


*


Glockenspiel hammers
Between the eyes, relentless
Barometric hell


*


Thin solar rays break
Through endless foghorn mornings
Like eggs on stone floors


*


Pale soundless creeping
Intangible tumbleweeds
Roll through green mountains


*


Holier than thou
Your tomato pincushion
Beats a heartfelt red


*


Burned molasses sky
Brightens six seconds sooner
Slow sober sparkles


*


Orange blossom bombs
Dissolve into bathtub steam
Snowflakes on lashes


*


In octopus ink
We trace eight present sized hands
On skins of dead trees


*


Slithering closer
Shedding last year’s well scarred skin
Farewell to dragons 3 months ago

Sifting through old words
Fingers press linguistic dough
Thoughts rise; loaves, flowers


*


Belligerent clouds
Waves crash like pesky laptops
Hard coyote wind


*


Water chills black boots
Winter rings her rusty bells
Round snake-eye moon shines


*


Finding dropped pennies
January raccoon eyes
Closer than the stars


*


Photos of strangers
That he left above the ground
How to bury them


*


I recall postmen
Snail mail stamp gallery days
Waiting on red steps


*


Another kissed frog
Her eyes, like two deep well-holes
No golden ball here


*


Lingering spring dreams
Bleach gray static afternoons
With foxglove footprints


*


Apricot fingers
Blue crayon flecks on pink lips
She’s drawing wide skies


*


First stars court wishes
Altruism or Lego
Lost teeth in my hand


*


Awake, one soft pause
This moment; a silver fish
Ripples fade to glass 3 months ago

The weight of the world
and death is all around us,
time to say goodbye 3 months ago

Bullion cat pounces
Chasing sheepish fog away
Raising gold dust rays


*


Small warm hands playing
Rough gray rocks, bamboo, old box
Bright new toys breed dust


*


Hawk fierce pupils pierce
Dark stoic period pause
Crisp linen paper


*


Boys run in the mud
Laughter splashes soak jean cuffs
Earth-caked, glad with youth


*


Chilled wren hops wink quick
Hard frost licked soil beneath her
Paths of small pitchforks


*


Little black belt boy
Hiding boogers in his gi
Master’s calm face sours


*


Silken gratitude
Memories curl like quick fists
Or long dead spiders


*


Salad spinner joy
Recycling bin rescue
Let us dolls whirl round


*


Finest dreamscapes drown
Moths frozen in candle wax
Euphoric quicksand


*


Gilded candy floss
Spun across wide lilac skies
Sweetpale breaths collide


*


Hopeful glass half full
Two dear friends with one small seed
An autumn blossom


*


Solitary lines
Leftover syllables wait
Like uncaught buses 4 months ago

March Trades
Blowing over the BVI
Big Cat gliding along 4 months ago