a vacation day

I'll take a vacation day from writing
late into the night.
the dental floss is whining and
the toothpaste is oozing through the cap,
my pajamas would be dancing but they are damp
in the laundry,
I just remembered.
the flowers are wilting from lack of water,
the dishes are undone,
so I'll take a vacation from writing
and floss and brush my teeth, hang the
laundry, summarily dump the flowers
off the back porch and climb into
bed with my beloved.

Packing for France

bike shorts - two pairs:  check
bike shoes and jerseys, a raincoat
in case it rains.
some blouses and a skirt, a scarf
to wrap around my neck on a chilly evening.
yes, a toothbrush, etc
I'm starting to pack so early this time
having sorted laundry
having found my suitcase

and when the climbing gets tough
my left hand will reach for the electric assist
and I'll fly past my beloved,
waving as I go by

I will wait at the top of Alpe d'Huez,
glass of wine in one hand
cheese and bread in the other.

Saving a tree

one tree

spreading its branches

over a few stone benches,

 a few homeless men trollling for free books

(maybe to sell, I don't ask)

one tree

spreading its branches to provide shade

to a couple college kids

slouched over notebooks and iPads

(I have one as of today),

their eyes would blur in the sun

but instead

there is shade, blessed shade.

one tree is worth saving, so let's save it then

an easy decision,

yes?

California on Fire

spectacular and deadly beauty

your black plumes rush skyward, the heat

burning my eyes, fire jumping from tree to

tree, across ditches, scorched earth.

spectactular and deadly beauty,

our tears 

hot on our cheeks, our houses

burn to the ground in

front of our 

broken staring

eyes.

Photo from NYT Lens collection

homelessness in Boulder

this morning
there were three groups of them,
two older women with bad teeth, heavy, dressed in rags,
another group of four men, handing a bottle back and forth
and another group of men, I didn't see what they were doing
as I rode my bicycle through a cloud of cigarette smoke.
this morning, I watched them pack up their bedrolls
from under the bridge
and yesterday, a man was sleeping against the fence,
wrapping his arms around himself to keep warm.
they are everywhere
and no where, hidden in bushes across the creek,
talking to themselves and squatting behind trees.
they will not go away and even after three glasses
of wine and the best wishes, we find no solutions
for them except to keep them from starving or freezing
at least, hoping some will find their way.

you are wonderful and beautiful

really

the words arranged themselves

i was too busy to notice what words and where

having inherited a hundred of the slightly warped,

somewhat dirty, well loved magnets from

a friend's refrigerator.

she moved away, this was her going 

away gift to me, arriving in a plastic box

that sat on the dishwasher some weeks

and then more in my work bag.

words.

you are beautiful and wonderful,

super kind and upside down,

there is love in how you look at me.

Flute and French

an etude
an accent aigu,
musical expression, dynamics,
bright, mellow, accents,
the sound of "u" in "tu" and "tribu"
the memory of drum beats in the earth.
all foreign, all to be learned, incorporated
into my skin, my tongue, the movement of
my body, my face, my lips,
flute and French in one evening,
a bottle of champagne, mozzarella cheese,
garden tomatoes and cucumbers, candlelight,
offers of friendship,
the passing of words and non-words,
friendship and the passing of
ships in the night
only to dock in the
morning light.