Ground Hog’s Day

Ground hog gorging
allows for winter's sleep

stirred by it's body clock
gets up to check

if spring is on it’s way.
A shadow sends it down

for six more weeks
of winter cold:

snow falling,
ice and sleet,

cocoa by the fireplace,
warm blankets,

and fluffy slippers
for your feet. 

Conversation at Eighteen

She wanted her tubes tied at eighteen
she knew then she wasn’t meant to be a mother

didn’t have the generosity required
to attend to the needs of another

too many unwanted kids anyway.
“Why contribute to the nightmare?”

At that moment I saw her point of view
coated in the precognitive knowing

of what her future would bring
realizing her years of wasted living

came from being an unwanted child
one who was allowed to be born anyway

living under the burden of inconvenience
an unwanted birth better to have been terminated.

Juxtaposed against my view: if life is given it is 

suppose to be lived regardless of the circumstances,

reasoning extended to handicapped children

and the aged, if they are still breathing there is work to do.

Purpose has not been fulfilled until you breathe

your last, an opportunity at every moment to make

life worthwhile. 

The Wary Widow

What she missed most after he died
was her good dancing partner

they learned to dance together
when they were teens, got married

took advanced classes and went out every
weekend to local clubs and dance halls.

Dancing became their favorite pastime
their steps so synchronized and familiar

after several years he got sick, but could still

hold her in his arms and take a spin

across the floor and as much as she loved
him she loved dancing even more

and now that he is gone when she hears
music from their favorite bands she looks

for him, but he’s not there,
and even if a friend offers to dance

it is not the same, the rhythms are all wrong

she sits on the sidelines rather than be

disappointed once again. She has settled

for companionship, occasional dates

to the theater, dinners out and social gatherings

someday to travel across the sea,

but what she misses most of all

is her trusted partner on the floor,

his strong arms to guide her to the music

in perfect step and synchronicity.

Live Everyday

If today is your last day on earth

how would you live it?

First I would let the ones I love

know I love them, then ask

forgiveness for my missteps
or selfish actions that caused harm

when the slate is cleared
I’ll look for things I still want to do.

Part of me will want to fix

those flaws that get in the way

of happiness, another solution

to toss them out and begin again.

Travel to those places I want to see
dwell in the wonder of life around me

grateful to live another day
to learn, to work, to love, to play. 

The Spirit in the House

There is a spirit that dwells in my house
invisible, but always felt by the one
who is most vulnerable, it seems to offer
comfort but it is a jealous spirit

and before the victim knows what happened
they’ve lost the will to venture out
content to stay in the warm embrace
of this unholy creature, who substitutes

safety against the challenges of life
holing up in the quiet of four walls.
I suspected it when we first moved in,
the previous owners, she was a fabric designer,

he a psychiatrist, with a good name but
got caught by this spirit and then stopped
going to work, couldn’t do his job
preferred isolation of his own accord.

Stayed hidden away until his wife forced

them to move but the spirit stayed behind,

it caught my oldest son for a time,

he hunkered in, refused to do what he needed

until he was forced out, and once the hold

was broken he was doing what he should.

My niece stayed for awhile, she felt the pull

and broke it early, she recognized the spirit

from one that trapped her mother, didn’t

want anything to do with it, so she was

out of the house and on her way before

she was truly ready but a wise move

on her part. I was always busy until I retired

then the spirit grabbed me for awhile,

I didn’t mind, I was tired and could use the rest

then my sister, moved in and it grabbed her instead.

The time has come to force her out,

not because we don’t want what’s best for her

but because she must break through

to her better self, away from the spirit

that dwells in the house, who holds on tight

and doesn't want to let her go.

Fixing Popcorn in the Oven

Woke up from a dream,
in a city far away,
I wanted a treat for the kids
and you suggested a little oil

and a cup of kernel corns
to fix some popcorn
in the oven, and in that twilight

of dream it made perfect sense
and so we pulled out two baking dishes
poured enough oil to cover the bottom

then sprinkled in the popcorn setting
the temperature to 400 degrees
and waited for the first pop 

but one of the kids started crying
baby brother had fallen behind
the couch, the middle child squealing

to come get him while the older one,

eyes wide open, tried to rescue him,

you were nowhere in sight.

I hurried over and with one quick

swoop had the baby in my arms

a few dust bunnies around his mouth

startled but unhurt, then the smell of

popcorn wafted into the room,

we hurried out to the kitchen

where popped kernels were banging

against the door, I put the baby down

pulled out bowls to catch the treats

before they hit the floor, turned off the heat

but popcorn was everywhere.

The baby started giggling 

his two sisters helped

me gather the white bursts of corn

pulling it from the oven before it burned

and you were standing by the door

video taping the commotion

laughing ‘till you couldn’t stand anymore

and when everything had settled

we ate our treat while we watched

the movie of how our peaceful home

was turned upside down. 


I think I've combined both my sons' lives 
into a funny dream. What could it mean?

Do You Hear The Muse?

Every person has a purpose,
gifts from heaven to guide
their journey on earth

and with these blessings
the plan to manifest
god’s design interpreted

through our hands and minds.

This is where faith expresses
itself, trusting the inner voice
never doubting the inclinations

to greatness, stepping out into
the chasm of doubt, and walking
across to god's expectation

whispered by the angels sent
to inspire and inform
our actions but how can we be sure

it is good and not evil that seeps
through our brain? How do we know
it is not temptation driving us insane?

I believe the challenges are set before us
because any prize won is hardly appreciated
if it comes too easy, so the struggles

are all part of the test, to trust in god
take the necessary steps to perform
the task ahead, using prayer and meditation

to bring clarity and strength to the journey
ahead, and when the job is done praise
to the glory of god above, that his will

on earth be done for everyone.

Liar, Liar, Liar

There are those who lie ineffectively,
a flicker of their eyelash is the “tell”.
A listener can see right through them

never believing a word they say
but if they’re fun, keep them around.

Others lie through exaggeration,
the story told so impossible, it is hard
to accept as the truth, but as yarn
spinners they can’t be beat, so listen

with a grain of salt, never quoting
them word for word, but retelling the tale
subdued, focusing on the part that’s true. 

The con is a more experienced liar
controlling all aspects of the account
to seduce, entrap and cheat a participant

who is often too embarrassed to reveal
the depths they were duped then stripped
of their wealth and dignity. Often victims lie

to keep the secret of how badly they were taken. 

The most dangerous liars are the ones who lie
to themselves, never facing the truth of their situation,

floating along in life, some may call it an

undying faith, others call it stupidity, but all the same

actions to save themselves are never extended

for their own survival, because in their mind

everything is going to turn out fine
depending on others to take the necessary steps

and then complaining when it is not quite
up to their self centered standards. 

Trophy of War

A tree grows in the forest
holding a trophy from a young boy
who was called off to war.

He chained his bike around the tree
expecting to return home
after two years maybe three.

Several seasons  left it unclaimed
it became a silent witness to the boy’s life

of carefree childhood, and there it stood
day after day, while the tree grew taller.

After several years the bicycle and tree
became one, locked in life, the memory of a boy
called off to war and never came home.

Young Women

If you were a young woman in the forties
after World War II, you were more
beautiful than many who came before you.
Your men had been fighting over seas
Hollywood was in the neighborhood
glamour was splashed across the screen

and extra cash was available for red lipstick
tailored clothes, sultry hats, and hairdos.

The men hurried home, to find
beautiful women waiting for them
helping them to forget the horrors of war
while they went about the business

of bringing life back to normal,
getting married, having babies,
buying homes, and finding jobs
to employ them until retired. 

Contrast the innocence of those times
to a young woman of today,
still beautiful, more options available 

but lacking the refined dignity
posting half naked pictures on FB
pumping for another drink
well beyond their thirties.

Inauguration Day

His first inaguartion was memorable 

never thought I would see it

in my lifetime, his second, still
history making, not every president
gets a second term
and on this Martin Luther Day

Obama is sworn in.
His popularity among the young
gives him the support he needs
to take the bull by the horns
and wrestle it to the ground,
becoming the rodeo champion

and not the funny clown.
After four years of conflict,
and frustration with his leadership
he has developed his team to take
on his opposition and push through
his agenda, healthcare, gun control

immigration, and a plan to get  

out of the slump to a robust economy.
All eyes upon him on this special day
prayers sent to lift him up to become
the leader we need him to be.

A Noise in the Night

Two nights ago, I heard
someone rattle the front door
wondering who might be coming home
both my sons and my niece have a key

it was after midnight,
none of them in town, the dog
came out to check the door
but no one was standing there.

Last night I heard a thump,
startled me from a deep sleep,
got up to look around
almost tripped on an easel

that had fallen to the floor
with a painting of a lobster
from an outdoor restaurant
along the coast of Maine.

Once again the dog came over
with all the commotion
but nothing to be worried about
so we both went back to bed.

All three kids are in a crisis,
life changes of great magnitude,
one has moved across country
the other adopted three children

and the third one, the girl, 

broke up with her boyfriend
of two years. Each one is making
significant life choices right now.

Maybe their souls are wandering
in the dream world, wanting to come
back to a safer place where they don’t
have to be an adult, or maybe it is

my baby sister, who moved in and stayed
too long. Now my husband and I are plotting

our escape, looking for our own safe place

where we don’t have to be the adult

maybe we'll find someone who will be there 
to take care of us for a little while.  

She Wore a Parachute

             

Most people think of sky diving

when wearing a parachute,

a silk cloth that mushrooms out

capturing air, allowing the wearer

to float safely to the ground. 

He lived through World War II

and like many who returned, his

pack was stuffed with souvenirs. 

Some chose guns,

helmets, knives, something to 

remember their time in the war.

My dad took a silk parachute

thinking it would make a 

gift for someone back home.

It took him a year to find 

the woman he loved,

one he remembered when 
he was young.

He was thrilled when she 

accepted his proposal 

then showed her a surprise,

yards and yards of white silk 

“Use this to make 

your wedding dress.”

She smiled and complied. 

Took a little while, removing

cords, then cutting a pattern

to make a gown.

Ordered lilies from Hawaii, 

wore perfume he brought
from France, 

the whole town was invited

to celebrate

each taking turns to dance

getting a chance to touch

the silk of her wedding dress

feelling like they were floating

through the skies

grateful 

for all who survived.

Change in the Neighborhoods

I drove down the street the other day
just south from Disneyland.
The signs on the markets were

sanskrit, when did it transform?
Reminded me of another time
I had a doctor’s appointment

in a place where my best friend
from high school moved after she
married, but now it looks like little India

faces peer out from the stores
women adorned in sari’s and veils,
foreigners who now call this city home

In my own neighborhood,
once inhabited by professionals,
then one by one the houses sold

a new group moved in, now claims
to be the majority, and on their holidays
their flags fly beside the red, white, and blue.

As populations shift, people
from different countries with different
ideologies, congregate in tight

groups in neighborhoods once filled
with people who looked more like me.
I’ve become the stranger in my own land.

In American history, land was stolen from
the Native Americans by the Spaniards
then by people coming west in wagon trains.

Land ownership is vulnerable
when new waves of immigrants arrive
however friendly their faces may seem

how deep into our systems will their leaders
submerge, will the choices they make
benefit every citizen or will they skew

the results to promote their own agenda?
Sometimes a chill runs down my back
realizing change is the only constant

will we learn to live together in peace?
Is it really a small world after all?

After Her Husband Died

I met her when she was ninety
a wrinkled mass of energy
still going strong thirty years
after her husband died.

She met a beau shortly after his death
never expecting to fall in love again
he was on her team at the bowling alley
lived together five years before he passed.

Within a month she met another
this one from church, who sought to comfort her
moved into her house where they lived
for ten years or was it twelve?

Before he was gone a fellow from high school
contacted her, professed his love after all these years
said to give him a call when the old guy passed
which happened soon after they talked.

He is the fourth man now to share her bed
they’ve been together for over a decade
but now he is sick, doesn’t know how long
he’ll last, never expected to live to be so old. 

Her kids appreciate she never remarried
keeping their father’s estate intact
glad she found companionship in her old age
maybe after this one she’ll find another. 

Conversation between a Chef and Engineer

“I will be serving the quintessential French stew,
boeuf bourguinon - beef cooked in a burgundy
red wine. I have taken a flatiron steak

and braise it until tender keeping it moist

with wine instead of water, adding vegetables

and garnished with a sprig of parsley.

The aroma from this food cooking
on the stove will have you ravenous
by mealtime and the meat will melt

in your mouth as you savor the taste.”

“I would rather have a good cut of meat

grilled without sauce, placed on a plate
with a baked potato and whole kernel corn

arranged so none of the foods touch each other
but each easy to identify and readily available
when I eat my meal.”

 “Perhaps you would prefer a cumin

scented casserole with an irresistible
cheesy-crisp topping.

I will cook the onions and bell pepper

in olive oil adding ground beef,

cumin, tomatoes, and macaroni topped

with a sharp cheddar cheese.”

“I prefer seeing each food I’m eating
I don’t like my meal to look like it
has already been chewed.

If you want to use ground beef
make it a simple hamburger,
no spices other than salt and pepper

a slice of tomato and onion
with a leaf of lettuce all placed
on a bun, I will add mustard

or ketchup to my taste.
The meat should be cooked medium
to well done or I will return it.”

“Your tastes are quite bland

I have no patience for your rules
where is the creativity and expression

to stimulate your palate and expand
your mind? I find your tastes repulsive,
boring and lacking imagination.”

“In my defense, I’m easy to feed
predictable and constant, you can
count on me to get the job done,

I will be where you want me
on time and ready to work,
but I need my food to be simple
and conventional, no spices or flavors
to upset my system, I want to see
what I’m eating, no surprises for me.”

The chef gained fame as a remarkable

cook, employed at the finest restaurant

while the engineer built bridges

and buildings throughout the city.

The two never crossed paths again. 

Winning the Prize

Women adorn themselves 

in the latest fashion, clothing

identified by designers, even
in cold weather they appear
sleeveless with shoulders bare
catching the attention of the cameras
vying for the best dressed
but any attention is better
than none.They pose for the most
flattering angle, letting their smile do the rest
standing beside men, who in contrast,
are dressed the same, each hoping
to be the one chosen for the prize
for a few hours of work, pretending
to live another person's life
swept up in the façade of Hollywood
a place where people sell their souls
to be the darling of the hour for a trophy

and accolades from their peers.

The Unwritten Manuscript

It swirls about in my brain 
keeps me up at night 

begging to be expressed 
a turn of a phrase like a jewel 

in a treasure chest 
or a golden thread woven
through the tapestry 

but when I sit before 
the typewriter, the words
avoid my fingertips 
sometimes it is better 

to start in the middle then go forward
and backward to reveal the whole tale
but when the lights are out 

and I start to dream the words flow
like a gushing stream 
until I get up to put it on paper

then my mind goes blank

and I must begin again. 

Death of the Daily Newspaper

All innovations have a season 
the town crier became obsolete 
when the printing press was invented

allowing news to get out quicker.

As distribution improved 
and the machines became automatic 
owners built empires keeping the public

informed using advertisements
to pay for the papers delivered
to the front steps of individual homes.

Then little by little, the costs 
overwhelmed the smaller companies,
who could no longer compete with 
the big boys, than all of it went away. 

An invisible intruder entered
the airways, available to hand
held devices allowing people 
to be connected worldwide
often times getting access 
to events as they occurred. 

Word of mouth and social networks
dispersed the news at herculean speed
leaving the newspapers scouring 
the internet for leads. Then one
by one the publishing houses closed,

creating websites to handle digital

code, and then, like the town crier,

the newspapers eventually folded.

Gumball Prize

Ever since I was small 

I loved the gumball machines
they stood like little soldiers 

along the walls of small business stores, 

restaurants, and in the mall.

Sometimes they held M&Ms, 

sour tarts, or small toys. They used 

to cost a penny, then a nickel and a quarter
but didn’t matter what they were, my dad

always dug deep

into his pocket to come up
with the correct change 

so I could take a turn
and get my special treat. 

Catching a Cold

My oldest son, at five years old,
ran around the house

in his underwear, his feet were bare
he was holding a little string 

twirling it in the air
then opened the door and ran 
outside, I shouted, 

“Where do
you think you’re going?” 

He answered back as clear as he could,

“I’m going out to catch a cold!”

Before I could say anything 
his younger brother followed him.

I caught up with the two while they
stood in the yard shivering 

laughing at my distress they turned
and went inside, locking the door behind them.

I didn’t get angry, I was much quicker then,
I ran around to the sliding door 
came up with a might roar

we fell to the ground 

with giggles and squeals

letting the cold slip away

never catching it at all that winter day. 

Tattered Pictures

Torn photos scattered on the floor
pieces of lives lived before.

Did the rodents come in
for bits of paper 
to insulate their nests?

Grandpa’s face looking out from across
the room, his felt hat slightly askew
his eyes somber, mouth sad.

What stories did he have to tell?
There is my mother with hair freshly coiffed,
lips painted dark red and her first born
held securely in her arms, standing

next to an oak tree smiling at the photographer
who must have fallen in love with her
like the camera did so many years ago. 

Little pieces of this and that, the side of a building,
eyes of a cat, years of history now nothing
but pieces of confetti, tossed it in the sky, 

time to move on and say good bye.

Message in the Cards

Some use prayer to get messages
from on high, others seek out

a medium to disclose directions
and uncover the path of destiny.

The method chosen depends

on beliefs, some go directly to

the one in charge while others
ask for someone to intercede

on their behalf, grease the palm
of one closest to the father.

To the unbeliever either method
is in vain, seeking something

that doesn’t exist, designed to give
responsibility for choice to something

outside themselves, therefore
denying responsibility and leaving life

to chance, or sets of circumstance
from which they have no control.

Easier to think a message can be
delivered through the cards

or whispered from the mouth of god
then to feel alone out in the world. 

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?