downy ocean

ghostly tourists haunt
empty boardwalk attractions
blustered on cold sand

haunted house shutter'd
yet exhausted shoreline blows
more ethereal

information, please

closed against the wind
shuttered against tourists
information, please

evening pickup

work mind unfocused
my evening guest approaches
all day spent dreaming

mom's birthday

football and soccer
pizza, fanfare, and hoopla
mom's festive birthday

clagett farm

tiny suns in dark clouds
final tomatoes clinging
to withered old vines

just a stick stands
at the tip one pod bounces
catching slender breeze

zzzzzzzzzz

a morning sluggle
immobilized by ennui
lays leaden abed

edits

ants march in margins,
notes, edits, and revisions
become the design

to edit maddens,
but, emendo ergo sum,
it's just natural

bleah

still sleepwalking yet
functional for my deadlines
all out of sorts

troop of birds in grass

i feel quite lucky
if evolution differed
i'd be lunch, not bugs

return

knowledge of the drive
makes getting in the auto
unpalatable

uncle at precipice

uncle stands at edge
breathtaking, mountainous view
unfolds before him

canada cliffs

inconsequential
against the glorious sky
silhouetted cliffs

still

finally found
reflected in beaver's pool
autumn stands proud

cadillac sunset

alizarin rays
give madder to dove wing clouds
shifting grey to red

still waters reflect
steely sky transformation
to new paradigm

high seas

white lace at cliffs' cuff
high seas bounce and flourish
wind tatting fresh waves

at water's edge

the seagulls and i
looking for that which feeds us
prowl amid seawrack

precariously
perched at angry water's edge
watching the ocean breathe

against the wind

sunset sentry caws
raven voicing ruffled croak
warning against wind

monday

along the shore path
the iodine sea weed tang
mingles with pine musk

drive

through seven states
and twice as many hours
travels the long road








crisp to perfection
break for tired legs and soul
a basket of clams

prep

haphazardly run
from task to task to next task
in preparation

awakening

nightmare encroaches
darkened clouds roil at edges
vignetting photo

crowbar

but for a crowbar
the new fridge delivered in morn
will not fit in space

rain, rain

while i don't mind rain
flooding is a different tale
just wanna get home

lemon spread

beneath grey clouds spread
lemon jam on horizon
almost breakfast time

children's hospital

mr piggy bank
wyatt goes to hospital
to extract quarter

monday

monday, i barely can
stand to face you, let alone
write you a haiku

after so long dry
the clouds stitch themselves up and
soft rain falls all day

orange

bee girls dance in sun
gathering protein and sweet
from coreopsis

bold orange blossoms
pinwheel against green foliage
attended by bees

eek

o, Mus musculus,
i don't want to kill you, so
use humane trap, please

today

today is today
tomorrow no longer but
yesterday too soon

summer's last garden

in the humid breeze
roses give forth spicy breath
and herbs season air

equinox

stalking regally
with autumn on tailfeathers
wild turkeys cross

fat on horizon
the fullest of the full moons
marks the harvest night

Feeling my age

90-minute yoga
calls upon muscles unused
Today I am sore

threshold

aestival no more
day and night split cool and hot
welcome to autumn

one foot in one out
the weather muddled and mix'd
as the seasons change

monday, monday

barely noticeable
now part of the pattern
road flattened frog

avast

arr me mateys all
to mark this september day
here be a haiku

saturday

the world can stay there
and, safely snuggled in bed
i will just stay here

daytime career options

massage therapy,
construction management, or
auto mechanic

graphic designer
medical billing aide, or
work in justice field?

naptime

left office early
siren call of the pillow
just too strong for work

duckweed

hanging on the fence
"do not go in the water"
too bad ducks can't read

restricted diet

somehow i suspect
the rail is not included
on special diet

good morning brown horse
i am most glad to see you
waiting to greet me

garbage day

a big blue rat lost
down a street then back up it,
testing the maze's way

sluggle

morning. moving slow.
molasses stiff in the cold,
outstripped by a slug.

bounty

overwhelmed by veg
what to do with these beauties
rainbow tomatoes

yarrr

found at village thrift
a cross between Mr. Boh
and Gomez Addams

blink

with regular pulse
the door light communicates
a secret message

word to firefly,
romantic innuendo,
or just a bad wire?

Mel's brain

convoluted lace
dark intricacies exposed
Mel's brain online

beverage

as mug warms my hand
cloves and cardamom warm tongue
morning cuppa chai

office lingo

"where is your fruit knife?"
which, in translation becomes:
"gonna knife you, b*tch."

creek

i have walked here
for quiet water healing
then walk home again

behind me, dogs jog
walkers kvetch; ahead, cool water
pools deep and dances

quiet, soles soaking,
soul submerged in dancing stream
stress pulled from feet

doe, a deer

at trail head, a doe
stands quivering like aspen
then parts the green leaves

mondays

Why, o Monday, is't
that even holiday is
unmotivating?

trail runners

young legs flashing white
the trail utterly consumed
by pack of runners

walking

into cool morning
i walk, further today, slow,
foot following foot

pedestrian crosswalk

Oi—pedestrian!
Slow down you stupid f*ckhead!
And, please, don't hit me.

One thing leads to another

volé, pas velu
sa poitrine velue, coup d'oeil...
volé, vu, voleuse

box of crayons

perched on yarrow
candybright light fluff
lemon yellow finch

with shy eyes, sky blue,
nestled amid the scraggle
chicory peers up

stringing birds

strung along a thread
building a singing necklace
with five tuneful pearls

happy birthday

born today, Paula
knows old secrets about me
this can't be good

at a minimum
three thousand, six hundred, and
four syllables writ

dem bones

an achey Monday
hands, hip, feet all talk to me
think I'll skip my walk

affection

so happy to be home
head butting against my hand
sir velcro kitty

soft shell

my life is too tight
like a molting sookie, i
need to slough it off

beneath my hard shell
i am eager to expand,
ripe with potential

Monoprix

Sweet old French lady
Haricots verts and whiskey
Just the essentials

wedding

still reflections gleam
the elements merge together
sky and water, one

bill and susan join
disparate, together web
and become one soul

hotel room

the opposite of
a belly-flop, throw myself
backward onto bed

a luxury suite,
romantic setting, alone
with tub and great view

with a crisp white spread
the big bed cries for rumpling
think i'll take a nap

crab feast

three color print job
there's a certain elegance
to the place mats

stu, debra, and i
make jokes and do silly things
with the crustaceans

swooping over road
a pair of bald eagles play
driving from tilghman's

bird tree

miraculous tree
singing it's heart out for me
on hot afternoon

take two steps, birds fly.
two more steps, more birds launched.
tree still sings madly

wednesday walk

horses develop
long necks, not evolution,
but greed for grass

French Alps

Climbing through mountains
the train slows, struggles, feels heavy
just like my eyelids

Morning

Soft rain wakens me
Feel of his dark hair, his want
Lingers from my dream

re-entry

rough reentry
not only back in office
but trip to doctor

departure

exhausted from heat and fun
yet now that it's time to go
i want to stay

skate

slipping silently
a dark skate slides twix beach chairs
shadow of a kite

sunburn

spf 50
you have let me down again
a massive sunburn

riddle: what is black
and white and red all over?
mimi on the beach

dog tired

cool stone feels so good
when you're just too dog-tired
and over heated

ruins

a rickety grin
formed around negative space
makes a happy sky

holding up the cloud
sentry pillars stand proudly
supporting the sky

how did they know?

when erecting this
how did they guess how i'd feel
standing here today?

frozen fiddlehead

an oxymoron
frond frozen, forged of iron
by bright molten flame

cheese!

my smile wound so tight
it takes wings and flies away
to a better place

mossy

beautiful collab
of Quercus and Tillandsia
provides blessed shade

no wind for dancing
yet moss dangles playfully
from ancient branches



one live oak protects
from an unrelenting sun
the treasured dead

Big Ralph

Big Ralph, hot himself,
wends with us through Georgian brick
hot Charleston streets

as storm clouds threaten
Big Ralph persists steadfastly
clopping through the rain

benignant

oh my sweet jesus
yup, made ass of self again.
or why else say that?

an ass, yes indeed,
but a well intended one,
quite harmless, really

travel

droopy eyed loo
smiles wistfully and dreams
of fresh pine forests

intolerable.
heavy, heavy rains provide
heavy traffic jam

anxiously i board
connecting plane to charlotte
for reunion flight

clog

in tributary
island formed of storm wash makes
pond where once stream

morning walk

mud clogs paths and bridge
but hopeful soul made good use
and left us a smile

caught in the gutter
one shoe, drowned racoon, foam mug
remnants of the flood

following my steps—
what is that new squeaking noise?
shoe's coming apart.

ghost

tannin pavement ghost
marks the early death of tree
acorns carry mem'ry

acorns

handfuls of acorns
have fallen slowly, o'er weeks,
in a rush, oaks fell

confused squirrels
gathering acorns where oaks once stood,
now gone from the storms

late bloomer

oh, august firefly
how i know you, late bloomer,
alone in the dusk

storm wrack

at beach, storm tosses
sea glass, octopus, lost shells;
home, tree wrack wash'd up

inland storm wrack caught
at curb and drain and gutter
twigs, leaves, and garbage

street parking

under the curb trees
avoiding birdie ballast
spots left half empty

sharpie

liquid graphite tool
imagine the doodles i
could doodle with you

8/9/10

happy 8/9/10!
a serendipitous date
on the calendar

chipotles with mom

in a paper bowl
corn and rice mingle with lime
et with plastic fork

mom likes hers wrapped
"all the good stuff" encased in
flour tortilla

saturday

dyed chlorophyll green
by uncooperative plants
in tomato search

my sweat gathers in
uncomfortable places
most indiscreetly

sucked juiceless by heat
limp conversation dangles
o'er al dente meal

acid washed

my voice is husky,
my gullet is raw, burned by
many tomatoes

more storms

twice storms tumble sky
wind buffets walls with rain and
gargoyles gurgle

the wet sky, engorged
with leftover stormclouds, yields
fatty pink sunset

morning

unexpected rumble
wakes the cat at 4 am
a new scar forming

frothy latte creek
looking good enough to drink
to pre-coffee addict

tuesday

tuesday, with nothing
special to distinguish it
from any old day

farragut square

a troop of sparrows
lead on point, v spreads behind
winnowing grass

salsa for mom

cherry tomatoes,
jalepeño, garlic, lime,
cilantro, onion

not a "BLT"
but "GLBT" sandwich:
don't forget the guac

cherry tomatoes

oodles and oodles
of bright orange spheres plucked
now fill colander

in her soft pink shirt
alexandra dips between
rows of tomatoes