I grew up drinking it.
Inherited from three generations
before me,
I’m immune to the bitterness
others complain of.
The sweeteners only
dilute the true taste
of the drink
some find vulgar,
yet, for me it slides down
with ease.
A golden brown
syrup that’s best served
on ice— coming
in different glasses,
from different kettles,
and in different shades,
But all appearances are
equal.
Between us
There’s an ease
Now, a light breeze
That dries
Our laundry on the line
So we go to Chaucer’s chiffarobe
Slice into a vacuum-sealed package
Of magic mushrooms
Saved to throw open the outdoor
Rooms of this very day. We stay
Just a ledge above a micro-dose
Enough for a couple of meditative monks
On a pilgrimage to the back of the farm
Dividing Ridge Road
Offers no explanation for itself
As we engage with dead neighbors
& Animals, wild or domesticated
& Midsummer flora in full regalia:
Here’s Mae in her apron waiting by
Her box for a note that never comes
Here’s old Ike, the ox, in full bellow
Here’s Daisy Mullekin shaking her head
Then throwing petals along our path
Here’s Geoffery & Alice & Aldous
Speaking their minds by a lotus tree
Where bees sing and dance. We thread
Past fallen castles & bottomless pits
To the cleared overlook of Hawks’ Point,
The resident raptors screech at us
As they make their defiant rounds,
In awe we fall into each other and make
A playful tussle upon the ground. Soon
Sleep pulls her curtain over our day
Awake to the buzz of a posse of ATVs
Making a slow climb up the draw,
I look high and low
But there is no you. In
The metamorphosis of shroom, I’m
A naked monkey up the sentinel beech;
The roar comes near, I spot
Five red Hondas in sonic eruption
And you
Across the way
In a tree’s hidden hollow
Looking up
In the East End,
they have quiet zones.
Trains can’t blow their horns.
We’ve been trying
for decades
to get that
in West Louisville
so that kids
can sleep
at night
and not
have to
get up
at 6
in the morning
to go
to school
with two
or three
hours
of sleep
because the train horn
blew
all
night.
It’s all part of it.
(found poem from ‘Love, Support For One Another, Resistance’: What Protests Look Like In Louisville, an NPR interview with Kentucky State Rep. Attica Scott, June 3,2020)
How I treasure my life
even in these ordinary times
these most routine days
how I love the space I take up
every breath deep into my lungs
just my presence and awareness of being here
the shower that makes me clean once again
the tea bracing and comforting at once.
I see the shimmer in the water
reflections of what’s beyond.
I decide whether to walk now or later,
the phone in my pocket a treasure
of connection. My chair and footstool
a miracle of comfort and well being.
but when I prune tomatoes;
I learned from your
quick hands:
pinching off
futures for sooner,
riper fruit.
I think I must be a dog
What else can go all day unseen
To be kicked, rebuked, or diminished
From whom my tail wags
Upon first sight
Not because this dog is bad
No, this dog is simple
But misery LOVES company
So misery greets me
With a jab or cruel words
So she won’t be alone
Happy cotton fabrics specially chosen for an expected grandson
my son’s son
colorful collage of blues, greens, reds, yellows, greys
a touch of pink and purple
smiling moons, stars, hearts, airplanes, robots, trucks, trees, penquins, puppy dogs and kitty cats too
the fabric for the back frolicking horses in a flower filled field
the edge orange gingham
a rainbow of various threads
sharp new shiny needles
tools to carefully hand stitch with hope, faith, and love
a wrap for shelter and warmth.
If things are getting ready
to reverse and disrupt,
communications and
conversations and
connectivity and maybe
the goddamn Internet
news feeds, we should
open like young birds
to drink deep of these
several coming days
of common sense,
sprouting lilies, droughts
of blood in streets, clear
poison-free gas-free
airways, simple sunrises,
days without screaming.
Thank you, little planet
buddy, for your liberating
discombobulations,
your fickle gyrations,
your turbulent metals.
it is kind of nice
this private space
where water and air
couple close and tight
making quiet heat
