Posts for June 23, 2026 (page 10)

I am a Hummingbird

outside your door

I will drink

from the masters

of marvels and more

while

their ghosts promise

secrets

of what its all for

Humans shall make no rules
Respecting dog’s right to worship their toys
Or abridging their freedom to communicate
As often or as loudly as they want  

A well regulated dog being necessary
To the happiness of all
The right of dog  to bear and keep Squeaky toys shall not be infringed  

No dog, shall in time of peace, or
Any time really, be quartered in the house without its consent  

The right of dog to be secure in its dogness
Against unreasonable searches and seizures
Of its toys shall not be violated
No matter how reasonable human thinks the request  

Dog shall not be held to answer for a crime
That was not witnessed by human
Nor shall dog be compelled to be a witness Against itself
Nor shall dog be deprived of Toys without due process  

Dog shall enjoy the right to a speedy trial
For all matters, by a partial human
Deeply afffected by wagging tail and sad eyes  

In suits where the value of dog destroyed items
Exceeds twenty dollars, the right of dog
To look cute and get away with anything shall not be abridged  

Excessive petting is allowed, if dog approves  
But all punishment shall be considered
Cruel and unusual and is prohibited  

The enumeration of certain dog rights
Does not deny other rights retained by dog
Such as barking, scratching, rolling in stinky things, or squeaking toys at three a. m.

The powers not delegated to dog by this agreement
Are still reserved for the dog, who is the arbiter of all things    

eastern mantid

curl leaf

My heart cries out,

over and over.

So many tears left by

bombs and missiles

with their trails of death.

Such inequity inflicted on

those languishing in prison

cells where justice is not served.

For children who pick up a gun

that goes off in their hands, no longer

innocent of the ferocity they hold.

Those without enough to eat

Or the means to subsist in this land

of plenty where some say only fools give

to those who have such little hope.

For those who lie on the streets,

finding comfort from shooting up or in a

bottle while they hurt from the inside out.

And for all of us in this place run by those

who believe profit is the highest good while

the earth continues to fall into disarray.

My first was over an unjust grounding
I hurled a hunger strike at the judge
My mom / used to our theatrics /
Went on baking her cinnamon rolls
The duplicitous aroma / my rumbling stomach
Betrayed any ledge of drama  

Tear gas and billy clubs 
Framed the war one
Dylan and Baez singing fire
Peace signs / anger / smoke inciting the air
We knew too many dead
Tie dyes bleeding more than color  

We thought nature’s escape
The spiritual answer
Where the only protestors
Were the bluejays and squirrels
But the world called us back  

In the cold / I linked my woman’s heart
With ageless voices / tattoos / pink hats / brothers in justice
Like a river roiling Main Street
Solid in sisterhood / a raft of power
George Ella singing our strength  

Did Thoreau imagine it would be a full-time job
Stonewall / guns / civil rights / Standing Rock / science / climate / ICE / data centers
An endless assault  

I didn’t walk the one that haunts me still
I shared a room with pain back then
Leaning heavily on my cane
Watching marchers surge streets below my balcony
As one they dropped / clasping hands behind backs
Chants like a feral storm  
            I can’t breathe
I grabbed my cane and banged the metal rail
            I can’t breathe
A neighbor stepped out / returned with two clanging pots
            I can’t breathe
Sliding glass doors opened / others spilling onto terraces
Shouting / thumping / beating the ache of hearts
            I can’t breathe
We could have been prisoners
Demanding food / blankets / clean clothes
A community hammering / building
A house to include us all
A choir hymning desperate prayers             
            I can’t breathe
For nine minutes the world felt whole
Our voices one iron rung of unity
Slowly / slowly / the marchers rose
Moved on / voices fading with distance
And we left with our anger
Our sadness
Our lungs that filled and emptied        

Something very important we struggle to find
but can’t quite wrap our fingers around
by measuring in lifetimes
we intuitively understand
when, against our will, serendipitously
a moment expands beyond the reach of mind

my heart

at a stoplight in historic Clifton’s Gaslight District near University of Cincinnati, I see what I believe is the statue of an English bulldog on a flat porch roof of a vintage Victorian two-story. When the dog moves, I realize he’s tethered to a chain leash fully extended to the front edge of the roof. He’s a brindle and white—compact, brawny. Looks as if he could snap himself loose in a second if he wanted, but he appears content to be outside on this sunny, windy day, standing at attention, enjoying his lofty vantage point.

Does the bulldog wonder
what it would feel like to leap,
land in that green, green grass?