a reason to dislike cats

a small feathered body,

so beautiful in flight,

a lovely song,

now broken on the ground.

Flood warning

"THIS IS A TEST"
the loudspeaker blared over and over,
earsplitting air horns and sirens resonate
in our bodies as we sit on the bench
creekside
'THIS IS A TEST"
is it not
a test of our intelligence, wit and creativity
we need to navigate this labyrinth,
the myriad nooks and crannies,
this stream of life with its coves and rapids.
I'm sitting here at creeks' edge
my teeth are edge
my ears are ringing
'THIS IS A TEST"
yes, no need to remind me.

Reflections for my son, Daniel, on his 29th birthday

boston, boulder, berkeley,

Santa..atlanta, barbara

cities you called home.

mother, father, sister, friends and lovers,

we have all shared you.

indefatigiable, persistent, 

dauntless, endlessly energetic.

you have always been this way

as you crawled, walked, biked,

skied, dribbled and raced on

your way to independence.

Patience may not be your strong suit.

it comes with age,

you have plenty of time

carry on to the stars.

What could be better

beautiful flowers for Easter.

beautiful children strong and smart

beautiful countryside to ride a bicycle

beautiful relationship that nurtures and supports

beautiful friendships, laughter shared over a 

delicious dinner, much wine, and sweets at the end.

I don't need the religious side of Easter to 

be grateful for a life dredged from poor beginnings

to the richness of life.

Transitions

icy cold on blooms,

white on pink, 

a walk broken up into pieces,

crowns of snow on red blooms,

coexistence in transition, we move forward

into spring, away from the embrace of winter,

soon to shed our coats only to reach for them again.

thus is the change of seasons

we reach back only to find the past 

has left us and we are forced into

the future, let us smile at 

its arrival.

Playing dirty

a pure singing tone doesn't match
a dirty tango, a woman and a man sweating,
twirling, their bodies rubbing against each other,
a dramatic swoop at the end,
the beat swirls them in endless circles,
sharp steps, his legs between hers,
hers between his, cheeks to lips
to hips, legs high, she is over him
now and this is no place for
a delicate, sweet sound.
dirty dancing deserves a
dirty sound.

an awesome tango dance

More advice

Learn to play a musical instrument

Ask lots of questions since no one person can know very much,

Write a poem every day about something you saw or heard,

smelled or touched, 

Taste something delicious at lunch time.

Don't read too much of the paper, it only repeats

itself over and over,

you may only wallow in sadness and despair.

go do something to help the world,

have a glass of red wine and a piece of good cheese,

don't work too hard

work is overrated.