Surrender

                       ... surrender ~ the soft unfolding of wings







Photograph: Kathleen Wilke

Cupboard Door

                                                  
                                                             ... midnight on the  kitchen floor

                       ... back against the cupboard door

                                                                                        ... the price I pay for every new beginning

Strutting Crow

                      … down the rain soaked road // strutting crow







Watercolor by Rea N. Radifer

Winter Dream #6

                      winter dream #6:

                                                         ... sitting in an easy chair / reading a poem to me

                                 ... William Stafford aglow in lamplight

                                                                                ... don't worry he says 'the land will hold you up'





My reading of this poem on public radio:
https://beta.prx.org/stories/141540

Sweet William

            
                       ... stretching ... swaying ... on long green legs sweet william by the river






The photograph is mine.

Through the Trees

             ... through the trees ... laughter on the river /// ... smiling I pull the last of the rhubarb 







Photograph by Leslie Mitchell

The Dog Wakes Me

                                                         the dog wakes me at one thirty

                                                         ostensibly to take a pee

                                                         knowing him he just wants to show me the moon

                                                         .................. and all those stars

Nagasaki Bay

                                         ... evening at the Santa Fe Opera

     ... Madame Butterfly on the open stage
     
                                                         ... in the distance ... the lights of Los Alamos on Nagasaki Bay
  

Winter Dream #3

 

                                          winter dream #3: 

                                                                      ... across the channel

                                 ... lights from the coast guard station

                                                                       ... under palm trees Faron Young flirts with me
 





The photograph is mine.

Blue Willow Night

                                               ... blue willow night / fallen petals

The Tender Years

                                                  ... in a corner booth ... two girls / laughing 

                            ... reflections in glass

                                                               ... on the jukebox George Jones ... the tender years

Deep Blue

                         ... he sees music as color

                                                                    ... each note / each chord ... a different hue
      
         ...  A minor ... floating in deep blue






 Photograph by Stefano Viola

Sunday Morning Coffee

                                     ... sunday morning 

                                                                               ... she stirs her coffee / licks the spoon

                                             
                                                 ... learning to live alone






Painting by David Larkins

Bridal Shower

                                                   ... bridal shower

                                                                                   ... blue gingham pillowcases


                                                           ... thirty year ache





Photograph by Erin Kate

Peonies

             ... white tablecloth / empty wineglass ... morning rain on the peonies

          ... I stand at the window /// petals falling






Photograph by Sarah Jackson

Do You Believe In Magic

  
                                                    the dog whines

                                                    he's tired of this john sebastian

                                                    I turn off the fund drive  / put on music
 
                                                    john when he was john

                                                   and we all believed in magic
 

The Widow's Broken Clock

            ... worlds away from the widow's broken clock / swans at sunrise on hogganfield loch






Photograph: Edinburgh, Scotland, by Marco Bocelli

Half Moon Horizon

                                                                                                               
                                                           head in hands

                                                           he listens to the hum of the refrigerator
                                          
                                                           her last winter coat 

                                                           still hangs by the door

The Tilting Barn

                 ... the tilting barn of memory / swallows come and go ...






The photograph is mine.

Warm Sweet Rain

                                           

                             warm sweet rain

                             come down on me ///

                             wash me ///

                             wash me clean ///

                             thank

                             you

                             thank

                             you

                             thank

                             you

Windswept

                                 morning

                                                        
                                                 evening
                     
                                          
                                           
                                     windswept grave

Note on the Fence Post

                                                  
                              ... your note on the fence post ... time yellowed / wind worn ... remains
                                                    
     ... left there to remind me

                                        ... in the summer of my twenty seventh year love flourished in these fields






The photograph is mine.

Farmhouse Recital

                                                          ... farmhouse recital /// breathless                                                    

                                                                                                   ... my world  / piano keys

                                             ... a new summer dress

                                                                              ... I lean into The Blue Danube
                                                           

Dividing the Vinyl

                           ... what we divided with care:

                                            you have the white album / I have revolver

                                            you have bringing it all back home / I have desire

                           ... what we gave away:

                                            lonely teardrops

                                           (your love keeps lifting me) higher

Honey Moon

                            ... outside my window ... dripping with honey

                                                                                                               ... the full moon's sweet sad face

                                        ///  I close the curtains  ///  ....... I know crazy when I see it

Last of the Rain

                                            ... last of the rain /// tap tap tapping

                                                                                                     ... on the cabin's tin roof

                       ... I sit on the floor / listen

                                                      ... the blue hour gathering in the trees





Photograph by Julia Cho

Blue Heron Morning

                            island of rivergrass

                            where everything happens

                            blue heron morning

Some Pain

                                                at the grocery store / I run into an old friend

                                                who's lost her only child

                                                we hug / silently

                                                some pain does not have room for words

Unions

                                                   it wasn't vietnam that got you
                                               
                                                   but your motorcycle
                   
                                                   and the streets of san diego

                                                   damn it randy
                                                
                                                   I had to debate the value of unions
                                              
                                                   without you






Photograph by Mike McGlothlen

At the Edge of the Foothills

                                            ... a burning house / a falling crow

                   ... charred embroidery on a white dress

                                                         ... at the edge of the foothills ... unexpected salvation






Painting by Andrea Kowch