Reflections on the Hobbit

Met a Hobbit who was much smaller than the rest,

prone to harmony and order
victim of barbarians and rabble rousers,
who handled disagreements with clubs,
while he prefered to go about his garden
harvesting bounties from the earth
with the courage to do whatever was required
to protect his home, to the death if necessary.  

Later watched a history channel recount
of the rise and fall of Rome,
peasants were always the ones who suffered
with the chaos of war and other
power struggles. Roads and waterways were
the first to go, then education for a whole generation
people reverted back to superstition and magic

trying to make sense of an ever violent world.

Great journeys are undertaken by great thinkers
breaking the borders of their lives by infusing
extraordinary experiences into the everyday,
expanding understanding of the world
through new medicines, merchandise, and methods
building societies through social rules and architecture. 

Must make a plan to take an unexpected journey
to revise the limits of current thinking
and to venture into unknown territory.

Motorcycle Mama

Sat on top of the motorcycle

too heavy for my strength

but was told that once I got going

I should have no trouble

keeping it on the road.

Simple directions, use hands

instead of feet, one for the

accelerator and the other

for the brakes.

Took off too fast then

braked too hard after

almost losing control

when I took the first turn.

Decided right away

to be a passenger

from now on, leave
the driving for someone else

more capable than I.  

Dimes, Diamonds and Dollars

Three dreams in three days.

In the first, I won 30,000 dimes

from a slot machine

the next night a stranger gave me

a diamond bracelet that

sparkled in the moonlight.

Finally I walked down a dirt path
and uncovered fifty old silver 

dollar coins, worth more than face
value  because of their markings.

In real time no checks have come

to the mail box, no notices about

relatives and wills, no secret admirers,

no lottery wins, no unexpected windfalls, 

so what do these dreams mean? 

Are they just a method to wile

away the hours of sleep, 

don’t think too deep

dimes, diamonds and dollars,

dimes, diamonds and dollars,

dimes, diamonds and dollars

what do they really mean?

Return to Sandy Hook

Everyone was hopeful,
volunteers had spent hours
getting the new space to look
familiar, desks brought in,  

bulletin boards and cubbies arranged
to look like the classrooms before
that day when innocence was lost.  

“…and all the king's horses and all
the king's men couldn't put 
it back together again.”


Prayers for the community as they
struggle to bring peace out of tragedy. 

Who Is Sleeping In My Bed?

After years of marriage
it was bound to happen
someone took my place in bed.
Brought in as a trusted friend
then little by little intruded
on the sanctity of my spot
beside my husband.  

I should have become suspicious 

but it never occurred
and I was taken by surprise
when I walked in and heard
their synchronized breathing
and there he was, the family dog,

asleep on my side of the bed. 

Second Day of the Year

Last of 2012 out the door
time to begin goals for 2013
find a space and toss it clean.
Out go last year’s magazines,
unfinished tasks, gifts given
but never opened, notes written
and reread. Time to sweep under

items that never move, dust those

hard to reach places, clean
inside cupboards, refinish paint

on kitchen cabinets, get

the house ready to sell by

February or March. No time

to dwell on the should-have-been,

focus now on the can do 
and ought to be. 

Happy New Year!