So very honored to be included in, Better Than Starbucks! “Mary, I Am Learning,” is an homage to Mary Oliver—her poetic voiceHAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Tag Archives: nature
Weathervane
Weathervane – a tiny true story
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Weathervane
Eyes pointed at the sky. Melody clear and perfect settled on the roof. Tiny voice filling the air. Delicate hollow bones balancing on the weathervane. Seems decades ago we discovered the wrought iron fixture at the flea market; a creaky dive with discarded toys, Post-Depression tools and miles of missing teeth. We anchored the wind reader, with its proud patina horse, to the garage peak. There, our valiant filly galloped through the atmosphere till her strong legs could no longer outrun the wind. Somehow, the compass remained intact.
On the dull backdrop of another chilly overcast day, my little bird friend has chosen one metal branch above the others. As I listen to sunrise songs floating down to the driveway, I assign new meaning to the weathervane. S for Sun—for you, the warmth in our lives no matter the weather.
4:20 am
My poem “4:20 am” published in the weekly Avocet – a magazine focusing on nature and all its breathtaking wonder.
Baby Elf
my poem “4:20 am” (attached below) is in the weekly Avocet – issue #262 –
Avocet link if you’d like to submit writing to this important publication for Mother Earth
4:20AM
frost creeps into the holes of my old moccasins
the taffy-stretched shadow of a red sunset maple
reaches across the dark grass
as if she too
desires the moon’s infinite perfection
stars tuck away in their opaque shells
this is autumn’s whisper
I peek through my eyelashes
must commit to memory
must etch my soul with rehearsed minutes
before tomorrow’s living
rubs out this wonder
4:30AM
I remain frozen in my silent place
knowing the sun will wipe away
the beautiful moon
this pristine silent moment
don’t want to go back inside a walled house
wish I could honestly tell you
a love affair with nature
enticed me from my bed
at 4:15 AM
my Dachshund needed to pee
baby elf sketch created a few years back with pencil
the buck moon
I’m so very thrilled that a new poem of mine, the buck moon, was included in this wonderful magazine!
Into the Void, is available in both print and digital form.
“Included in ‘Nine New Lit Mags You Need to Read’ as one of “nine new journals that appeared on the scene within the past couple of years and have already made their mark on the literary landscape” in the November/December 2016 Issue of Poets & Writers.”
the buck moon
there is a moon where newness emerges
from above the forward brow line
placid black almond eyes
antlers and smooth skin twist
against harder things
strip away velvet underpinnings
wrap the chilled arms of night air
forest canopy dulling shadow
dancing silhouettes vague
and
slippery
vulnerable newness pressed to pounding chests
no light
forecasting the future
suckle the dark together
escape
alone
songs of silences
deformed putty pink
robbed of warm breath
contorted sweet necks
tar bubble eyes bulging
frail unfeathered waxy torn
foiled unsung tiny raptors
never will gush
broad kite wings against the wind
meander upon the thermals
dead
before winter’s white bone chanced a kill
stuffed down bright
spring’s dark bosom
stalks cradled
strapped with dried fall grass
gentle summer kisses will not carry
overlapping notes
sung in threes
new harmonies in pubescent throats
echoing from fresh limb to sailing cloud
undeveloped triplets all
delicate melodies
small and quieted
in the driveway
sad little chicks
stilled
baby birds
in her songs of silences
nature candidly reminds us
she is both
judge and jury
I wish this piece wasn’t here or anywhere else – but I hope it serves as a eulogy
for those baby birds – may they fly in eternal peace
art created last year for an illustrated project
falling
spectacular glow against the robust purple grey sky
leaves spiraling in wind directing thin branches to bow
unreal color drenching the landscape
but what am I seeing
not glorious
scratched pencil lines and spinning circles
into ovals with broad maws and wild fur
sharp orbs and blocky nostrils
I’m hearing too many voices
the wind is a sailing eraser
paper falling like leaves
when
almost home I look up through a tree
these
these are the falling papers
this is the wind
this is what I need to remember
this is why
I have eyes
sketches done for students to demo different animals…
picture taken when I returned home from subbing
while standing in my driveway looking up
natural deselection
earth time past
folds before man laid claim
magnificent giants roamed
this planet’s hide
legged, tentacled, devoid of sense
spawning stuff of nightmares
breathing light of dreams
ambiguous
specific
cloaked
creatures of fantasy
bestowed as masterpieces
sharply enameled
horn heralded
club tailed
extraordinary strength
deselected
castrated by nature
on a sunless whim
t’rex duel created long ago while learning Adobe Illustrator, previously published
lessons earned
you’ve gone about halfway
so close
righteous peppers your tongue
your decades of experience
shower unadulterated minds
your determined suggestions
penetrate virginal ears
then the moon flips
your waxing tongue is stifled
nature in her amusing way
has pushed you out
and laughs at your wrinkled brow
she flawlessly accepts
what you won’t admit
children are whirlybirds in the wind
and the only thing you control
is where to sow the little seeds
in your vegetable garden
Photo – delicate daughter (now 17) and big son (now 14) standing in front of mural their mom painted in 2004.
Zebras prisma penciled in 2008
about birds
Ah, we female birds
so plain and dull
sitting upon our nests
obliged to keep our eggs warm
and what do you do
fly off with your freshly preened
brilliant red plumage
to seduce another dull female
while we colorless squatters
do not complain
understanding the urge to wander
is in your nature
so we dust-feathered, will teach troops of earnest chicks
and you will be crowned master of ceremony
for a parade of dull females
I was just light-hearting the prose up a bit – no offense to many a good man. 🙂
Red-crested woodpecker done with watercolor marker and Prisma pencil a few weeks ago
Big I’s
My Friends,
Big I’s
I wish I had miles of long hair to toss out a tower window.
I wish I knew my children when I was a kid.
I wish I kept the little black motorcycle I never stayed upright on.
I wish I had a spotted cow in my backyard.
I wish I could wear a silver ball gown and waltz.
I wish stars were close enough to taste.
I wish I felt this young when I was.
I wish beds were made of clouds.
I wish I could share all my thoughts.
I wish I could wear night as a pair of mismatched socks.
I wish the sun set on my shoulder.
I wish words were made of water.
I wish dreams fit inside my secret decoder ring.
I wish I had a secret decoder ring.
And yes, my post title was inspired by the movie, Big Eyes which sadly I haven’t ‘scene’ yet, but hope to soon! In homage to Margaret Keane and her lovely Big Eyed Waifs, I’ve done a quick sketch of a modern Big Eyes. There is only one Margaret Keane. I am an imitator here, though I really did own a pair of earrings like the one(s) shown. Back in the 1990’s, a coworker quipped, “…waiting for the dog that’s gonna jump through those things!”
Thank you. May you dream wishes into your coffee…
Face Feature Mix done for studio class way back in, hum, I think 1983. Big Eyes Homage done quickly while wishing…
anntogether 