Author Archives

by

Minuet

Trees sway gracefully.
They nod and bend
up and down,
back and forth
to drumming thunder
rumbling
across a dull sky.
Minuet dancers
bobbing socially
to each other.

Dark green pine
wearing
brown cone corsages
lean close
to perky willow
holding tender lush buds.

Wide skirts
of pale poplar branches
swoosh
as they rise above
saplings,
excited to reveal
fresh, new
burgeoning leaves.

Wind skips lightly,
hip hopping
amongst the shrubs
to join the fun.

Elegant Mother Earth
blesses the affair
with a sprinkle
of rain
encouraging her
guests to show off
their finery.

Snowy owl watches,
perched on a weatherworn
barn,
her feathers only slightly
ruffled.

by

The Gate

A young couple giggle like teens
as they stumble toward their guest house.
Muffled laughter escapes as they recount
how close they came to being locked out.
They were told the imposing black wrought
iron gate would close at a specified time; no re-entry
until morning. They had sprinted through a diminishing
opening, hearing the locks click behind them.

A man dressed in black walks slowly past the imposing
black wrought iron gate. Carefully he analyzes the
twists and turns, the swirls of the ornate metal leaves,
looking for any weakness. Looking for access when the family
is away and the house might be left unguarded.

As the paint dries a tradesman takes the opportunity
to admire his work. The imposing black wrought iron gate
has been restored to its former beauty. As he takes in
the size and artistry before him, he imagines who may have
passed through the opening in the gate’s glory days.

by

Momentum

A golf club,
I thought forgotten in the grass,
moved,
stopping me in my tracks.

A desert mistress appeared silently,
a flicker of light glinting off her scaly back.
She lay basking in the long, green golf course grass,
hidden off the fertilized fairway,
near a perfectly groomed sand trap.

My approach interrupted
her warm, sunny toasting reverie.
Momentarily our two worlds merged,
each assessing the other.

She had a strange beauty,
my curiosity piqued.
Dusty gray-brown skin hosted
mingling stripes, evolving to a distinctive
diamond shape marking, that ended with
a tail rattle held high.

She did not hiss or flick her rattle;
did not coil to strike.
She slithered and wound away,
slowly disappearing,
desert sand camouflage completely
absorbing her patterned body.

Tiny vibrations
were left in her wake,
flickering at my heart.