Ho Ho Ho

Blacky

Blacky

this cat was running wild
killing birds sleeping little
keeping the raccoons at bay

this cat now has a name
sleeps on my chair
refuses certain foods

this cat likes it indoors
with velour mice
and a rope scratching post

this cat's got culture
gave up the rat race
for the human race

Facial

Facial


my face
got a work over
out with the old
in with the new
sixty minutes rub a dub dub

my spirit
needs a scrub,
exfoliated, steamed
freed from blemishes
maybe it too would glow

Summer Berries

Summer Berries



raspberries crushed have a scent

eliciting memories unbeckoned

reaching for the plumpest

unaware of the scratches

seeking the sublime in art and life

we satisfy our lusts seasonally

filling our bowl to the rim

add a little milk

the glory of the

squish and devine taste

replace the failures in other realms

summer has arrived

Our Circus

Chagall courtesy Magpie Tales

Our Circus


laughing and falling from grace

we clown through life

doing trapeze acts

juggling our emotions 

walking a tightrope

riding bareback

subduing the lions

getting a cheap laugh

we pray to the ringmaster

hope for good audiences

and 

a chance to do it all again.

Love is

Love is

love is like
making cupcakes late at night for your son's class
rubbing medication on the guinea pig's mange
stepping into the scary bar to rescue a lost friend
wiping up after the rescued cat
watching your daughter drive away in your only new car
letting your loved one not see your sadness
sending flowers to a parent who never loved you best
ignoring the hateful politics of your friend's husband
planting gardens in places you know you will leave

love is like letting you just be
a rainbow

I, I, I

I, I, I


I will meditate
I will follow zen
I will retreat
I will pray
I will follow my bliss
I will be my inner child
I will go with the river

an awful lot of I's
on the journey to nirvana

Alone

photo by Joan Tucker

Alone

she was cranky and mean
she was drunk and secretive
she was victim and tyrant
she had no past or future
she had a daughter
she had no family
she just died

alone

Threads

Threads

history and folklore beckon
trying to explain things
to sort out the mysteries
find the cultural meanings
what where they singing
how to cook those
why the festival
no one explained
languages were theirs
we were to mind read
now saddened
by so much loss
need to hear it all again
with new ears
with new urgency
what about those rivers

Dnieper and Vistula

Paul G in Seattle

Paul Gauguin via Magpie Tales

Paul G

currently paul is hanging out

in Seattle with the totems

and asian lions

people crowd around 

don't seem to get it

these bright paintings

seems like long ago

girls were either covered up

or butt naked

who was this dude

maybe he should have 

stayed in France

clubs and oars 

from the Marchesas

garner closer attention

they say that painting 

is worth one million

I like that one

Not there

someplace so mysterious
I was not there
my blue pants suit was there
with its red stitching
but I was not there

I stood right next to a gondola
and a striped pole
the crowds were there
clicking and feeding pigeons
but I was not there

my husband and friend
were smiling in the photo
but I was not there
in a city so grand and chic
I was not there

I ponder the memories
review the photos
touch the old pantsuit
process that time and place
and yes I was not there

Seventy

seventy suns
seventy miracles
seventy mysteries
seven-ty
strangest sensation
 70

wow you don't look seventy
you just look what?
inside does not match outside
inside wants to dance fly
cavort do somersaults

outside tries to behave
appropriately sort of
don't embarrass yourself

yet the laughter is still there
and the twinkle and the storytelling

and yes that damn mini cooper

Journey to Joy

scent of grapefruit
breeze ruffling palm
warm water floatation
shadows on white walls
decadent bliss descends
dreaming of morocco
places where sun reigns

washington winter forgotten

Tucson

tucson desert canoa ranch santa catalina

sabino canyon sunrise pink creeping in

stories of apache raids and ancient tribes

st xavier entombed in the white mission

sky all navy blue adorned with twinkling lights

air so clean you shut off the air cleaners

bones stop aching in a land of old bones

hawks and hummingbirds thrill and a grand barn owl

tubac galleries filled with red and turquoise and orange

gemstones dinosaurs quartz agates sunstones

pearls rubies cacti nomads venders seekers

the earth's bounty all packed in tents in the desert

the silk road the guilds the artists ancient memories

all together in one short moment one dream

I buy a turquoise ring to remember

Ode to Leonard

leonard's voice
crawls down my spine
like a deep growl
joyful despairing
paradox
poetry like gravel
on an old dirt road
or a city alley
suzanne
by the river

hallelujah

Cold breaths

cold icy breaths

truth serum

sand shifting

moody words

no calming breezes

to ebb the flow of

feelings unfettered

raw ingredients remain

Elasticity of time

elasticity of time

photos in courtyards

in europe with a tiny waist

three little happy bird faces

can smell the sea in one

can hear the bells in another

can let go of the sad undertones

celebrate the pureness of memories

feel them again and again