Celebrating Explorer 60 years ago

as we, the Americans, rose above the clouds towards darkness
past the Russians, as our sensors started detecting the small
explosions of micrometeoroids against the sides of our tiny satellite,
we, the Americans, breathed a sigh of relief
we could win the space race after all
along the way, we could observe the past rushing at us
from billions of years ago, the rising of stars and galaxies,
the roar of stars falling into the abyss of dark holes.
we, the Americans, saw it all in the end
and realized how tiny we are
what power we hold in our outstretched hands.

Ecrire en francais

J'ecris mon fils en francais
et ca me fait du grand plaisir.
J'ecris Iba, Badou et Baye en francais
et ca me fait du grand plaisir,
un qui a son certificat de droit,
l'autre etudie le biologie et le troisieme
travail, travail, travail, sans etre instruit.
je lui ecrit aussi.

birthday socks

birthday socks make me happy

with their colorful stripes and soft heels

my feet are happy and proud

prancing down sidewalks and

pedaling down the path

they shout out to the world

look at me in my new socks!

with a new pair of socks, the world

is fresh and new, one thinks fondly

of old friends and new, of birthday

parties and champagne.

if you feel down, get a new pair or

socks, or buy some for a friend.

I'd rather fly to France

I'd rather fly to France
than a small American town in the
middle of nowhere, a place I would
never choose to go, willingly
but for life's vagaries,
the ones which birth us into this
jangled world of color, sound and beauty
the same one of grief and lost loves.
this small jet flying to nowhere
it costs so much more than just the
ticket.

Mestre Lucas and Me

Mestre Lucas and me -

he just finished a series of handstands

flips and rolls,

I swung my leg over that same old folding chair

I'm sweating and he's not, but

we're both smiling 

it's my birthday roda

Crows

They caw angrily from the trees

as Bella swoops in to eat scraps of food

left behind on the frozen ground.

She knows that food awaits her if

she runs towards a group of crows, 

scattering them to the skies

they caw angrily, knowing that the

food they have found will leave

in the belly of Bella.

here's what 60 looks like

he may be a higher belt

and he may be able to duck but 

I swing my leg high and kick towards his

right shoulder.

I am so proud.  I am so strong

I am 60

let no one forget that we are not dead

at 60

we are not dumb or deaf, watch out world!

I am 60!

Karen Squared

The elder
Karen, of the slight frame and intelligent
eyes gazing at the world from
behind those big framed glasses
she is the woman I want my daughter to be,
with quiet confidence and unapologetic
mannerism, in her long billowy pants
and pink and orange sneakers, she is
a strong woman, uniquely fascinating,
my friend, Karen.

my birthday twin

a double take on her beautiful shoulders

her face

the woman I didn't expect

I didn't expect the man behind her 

my twin

showing up unannounced, unexpected

showing up by surprise

I'm so thrilled, so happy to 

be reunited with my twin.

Leftovers

grilled monkfish drenched in ginger-tahini sauce
I'll eat it for lunch today
wamed up in a sous-vide to just the perfect temperature
I hate microwaved or overcooked fish,
and roasted carrot salad over kale, a salad you only
buy at a fancy restaurant, I'll savor the oysters in my tummy.
don't forget the half eated homemade cookies
heated just so to see the glisten of chocolate before
popping them into my mouth.
yummy

happy birthday to me

and when I'm sixty
and my hair still shines, my smile
touches the world, when I am still
running down the path, a little black dog
running beside me, I will know I have aged
well.
and when I am sixty and I still hope
for peace, when I still keep a small ecological
footprint and don't chase the dollar, I know I will
have kept my values and will have aged well.
and when I am sixty and I am grateful for
all I have, and have forgiven or forgotten past
insults and hurts, from myself or others,
I will have aged well.

BellaRoomba at home

yes, the dog puts her tail between her legs

and slinks up the stairs, looking fearfully

behind her

and 

yes, the husband can't find his shoes and

his socks are thrown on the bed 

having resided happily on the floor

for months

and 

yes, BellaRoomba gets stuck under

cabinet doors, I get messages on my phone

that her right wheel is stuck

and yes

I love her, for my clean floors, for

the entertainment, for cheerful companionship.

everyone should have one.

GS4

the wind at my back

a warm house to come home to
a loving husband and a goofy black dog
the small rug slides with her from the living room into
the kitchen as she chases the ball
an interesting job and many friends
I look at mountains outside my window
and I can decide between the pink and
the blue sweater.


GS 3

A monkey for tea -

the thing is

he thought about it

he thought about me and took the trouble

from his self described life of ever busy

between tennis in whites

launching a new company 

traveling to French Polynesia

he thought about it and I

appreciate that

GS2

GS: #1

we watched a border collie race back and forth

across the field, fetching, retrieving,

the ball sailing across blue sky

the sun felt so warm on our skin.

Playing capoeira

the man with the red gloves

balances on two hands perilously

as the man from Guatamala runs to set up

the timer on the camera

and she, in the pink top, abs of steel

she cartwheels over me

and she in the yellow swings her legs

over my ducked shoulders

I bring the wisdom of age.

black/white/grey

a black and white haircut
trimming errant strands, the ones which
stayed, the ones who left and came back
her hair is so unusual
a black dog tucks her tail to the
sound of the vacuum, filled with grey,
the clink of a lost wedding ring as it tumbles
out of the tray
he lost it years ago.
after marrying her
it bothered his finger

writing in the morning

while my tea brews,
the dog circles my feet hoping for crumbs,
while my husband reads what's new on Twitter
and because I don't get enough sleep at night
and I don't know why it takes me so long to go
to bed, it certainly is partly this poem,
the poems at night that don't come when it's dry
inside, and my mind is empty, I insist.
I insist on writing something and so let me
insist in the morning so I don't have to at
night when the stars are struggling to be seen,
my covers are calling to be warmed by my
warm body.

money

they are trapped in Senegal,
no money, no exit, no way to the future
they desire of higher education, a chance to
live abroad, they have no money.
I thought it could be different.
I thought it could be different if you were
smart, ambitious, curious, that money
would not hold you back, money was
something that could be worked out like
a student visa, or a bad marriage.
I know that it's different now and I write
back to them, these two young men,
bright eyed and hopeful that I could help
them, point to a magic passageway
to America.
I know I can't.

insurance

his car insurance is less than mine,
a few pennies here, a ten,
he drives a Subaru, I drive a Honda,
he's 47 and I'll be 60
he's a he, I'm a she
I'll file a complaint
I'll shout from the rooftop
I'll be glad I don't have to use it.

Write more postcards

write more postcards
smile more and laugh until your belly hurts
go to work as if it were an adventure
call your grandmother and
don't forget your first real love,
the one you still dream about.
Keep dreaming.
Wake up with optimism and
fall asleep with no regrets
invite your neighbors for wine
be more generous
Above all, don't wait until tomorrow
seize the moment and live.