The Venetian Face
The Venetian face is fadedlampshades of blushing pinkbuildings trimmed in handmade lacehide rotted wood beneath. Antique glass-blown cheeksVenetian lilac window panesboarded up when day is done.turn turquoise when it rains.
MoreTreasured poetry and bargain prose await all who enter here.
Spring
Pure Haiku Publication
I am overjoyed that Pure Haiku selected one of my haiku poems to publish for their spring theme: unfurling. Here are my other poem’s (not selected) but inspired by the seasonal print. Be sure to read my published poem at this link. Happy spring! Spring’s Unfurling Haiku
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Spring Tease
Spring tease,she takes out her feathery bloomswisps them across our nosesand we’re dancing to her tune,taking off our pants before June. Spring fling,just a wild weekend of weatherand watery blossoms, beautiful bosoms,her touch is honeyed heather, andwe are a garland for each other. Spring tease,sunshine squeezes out disease,and the crackling snow fell overnightcuring us all […]
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The Judas Tree
Through the window, I peek and pretenddangling snowflakes are Dogwood petalsfrom the sturdy tree in my old front yard,drifting to rest peacefully in an empty bed. But instead, I find hard-headed haillanding, white ants sprawling everywherein a shameful winter temper tantrum.Widowed clouds pass, hanging their heads. Alas, I cover my mouth in regret to seethe […]
MoreMothering
Paper cranes partially foldedfall onto the berry blanket, spreadbelow birch trees, whittled by winter’sfirm stand; black and white,stark creatures of dark and light,they oversee the murky evergreen lake.Weedy waters reflecting my daughter,waves of cool air spinning her weathervane hair,fresh white limbs growing like toenails;her new shoots point straight up in the air.
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Her Hatsu Hana
Their first time, arm and arm that day; my parents met me in Vienna, and we took the orange line all the way into the capital to glimpse that year’s earliest array of Cherry Blossoms, draped beside the reflective pond; Easter’s first laid eggs.
MoreLa Senteur du Samedi
Saturday spritzes its cologne,fresh market trips and onion domes,the awnings coated green with lime;we’ve washed them now a thousand times. Saturday noon, a silly smell,grassy thrill of a young schoolgirl,church tiles like artwork that won’t sell;they’ve washed them now a thousand times. Saturday evening, dab of musk,time to take off the weekday husk,dried out hands, […]
MoreHaiku Achoo
This month’s batch of haiku are nothing to sneeze at, so I hope you enjoy them. All feedback is welcome. Sleet, hale, and hard rain,I’m his umbrella girlfriend;soaking wet, sure thing.
MoreTombstones & Ice Cream Cones
Biking to the open market,slushy flakes evaporateas soon as they touch down.My pedals squeakpast ice cream conessold beside tombstones.What endless varietyavailable in each!We delight in the flavorof our coldstone treats. Tombstonesand ice cream cones,booming early spring.Handcrafted curvaturesgranite gelatos,all the distinct shadesof stele sorbets;pillars of relief,sold as solid,sugary grief. Tombstonesand ice cream cones;what a motif!Moments of […]
MoreSaturday Mix-Opposing Forces
When I turned ten, my father told me, “Go West!” as if he knew what a Beatnik I was at heart, and was gently trying to steer me towards modern pastures. Stubborn as a mule, I spent my early years moving further East, inching towards ancient cities; ones that have little give and no will […]
MoreIt’s Seasonal
Spring Fever Spring fever is contagiousdrinking after another day’s dew,salty sensations,sharing rings around the moon.Ripens her with purpose,the eggs will all crack soon.She was bit by the frost,but it couldn’t kill the bloom.
MoreThe Last Spring Clean
Toss the clutterto the clouds.What I want is not insidecramped closetsstuffed with miscellaneous mistakes,noisy knick knacks, andthe burly bones of the past;I buried my beast long ago. Excavating me,like digging my way out ofa cave that’s collapsed;I used to gasp,wheezing sournessa hollow tomb,conserving breath,biding time to death. Once resigned grave,make room!I am exiting youlike my […]
MoreDeciduous Decision
Ears perked when bunny heard the hullabaloo. Standing by the edge of the deciduous forest, hops from the burrow hole, a fortissimo crescendo flared-up. Had a white bellbird moved into a neighboring tree? Bunny turned. A fluttering aria rose over the calm twill, punctuating the easy flow of woodland morning conversation. No, this was no […]
MoreTWT–Alpine Sting
Prompt: Wind Beware the föhn. Bows branches in your mind, wailing eerie pain. See the shadow of him; a spot without rain. Artwork: Föhn Wind by Paul Klee
MoreNo Peace Park
There’s no peace atSt. Emmeram’s brüke today,blueberry blanketby a drainage pond.French dog barking, hisowners tap his mouth, calmer,as each new face across coveredbridge brings a bubbly burpof bark to the surface. A herd of goblin childrenshort legs, long screams,form a pack around the perimeterof the cess-pond,and every few minutesone shouts, “Mama!”Looks frantic all aroundas if […]
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These Trees
These trees spout black eyes,wield blunt branches like batons,but they’re also prone to Envy’s sting,and the invasiveness of spring. They’ve weathered winteras cacti weather drought:all prickles and girth–their bark now warms, waxen,to the sly affections of Mother Earth. They hesitate in the face of change,goiters, worry of gangrene, andthe unseen pathogens of sunlight.Porcupines, all of […]
MoreDilly, Dilly
Lavender blooms, dilly dillysneak-peaking spring.Writer’s compost heapreaps playful blossoming. Wildflowers sway, dilly dillyplump for plucking.Wear one on my ear,dear, until you can be seen. Marigolds ring, dilly dillyvolcanoes erupting;confess to spring andcling to boingy things. Snowbells bowing, dilly dillypour out blessings.Fast the ego, humbly,in airy shades of spring. This poem found me reading in the […]
MoreIn the Springtime
In the springtime,did I hold too tight?Wrapping the shadows of your feet.Foraging towards your forbidden heights.Struggling to growin the crevices of you.Bending ancient thoughtsbeneath ever-changing skin. I am only inchingin your sunlight.Clinging during downpours,a sapling,delicate and flat against you.Always twining you to me,interlacing my tenuous gripwith your sturdy confidence. For you,tomorrow will exist.It’s my brevity […]
MoreTWT-Seasonal Creep
Prompt 26: Spring “Back aching?” “Switch positions?” “Never.” My seasonal creep lifts the mattress, metal coil blooms crocus purple underneath. “Broke the spring.” Artwork entitled Garden Bed by Yuichi Hiraku
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Yard Sale of Thoughts 