Aging in the Nether Space

It's the nether space
of friends gone and
kids grown up
(some still angry)

when focus is hard
and body rejects it
like a foreign object
piercing my brain.

It's the nether space
in which sometimes
I prefer death over
increasing awareness

of loneliness and
inability to mow grass
or shovel snow.

A Glimpse Inside

Inner voice
muted by biography,
distorted by decades
of denying surrender,

lives in nanoseconds
of awareness, moments
of magic when life's
onion peels back

revealing pristine prison
with unlocked doors
and carpeted cells
equipped with
Jacuzzi and bidet.

The Color of Morning

Camera eye finds
hungry Cardinal with regal
crest and calm confidence
that demands focus.

He doesn't fly away
at every minor sound
like the wrens and other
small birds rather

he rules seed-saturated
snow without a trace of
humility, desperation or ego
investment until

belly full he flies inside
dormant bramble lending
crimson blush to a sleepy
grey winter morning.

Snow Redux

Snow again,
4 more inches
unpredicted by humans
yet anticipated by
backyard birds as

28 cluster and pluck
sunflower and regular
seed from virgin surface
now speckled with Blue Jays,
red Cardinals, brown Robins

and species I have not
yet identified but who
clearly know me.

Stood Up?

Perched on broken branch,
plump Robin patiently
pauses waiting for
her lunch date to
arrive.

That Time of Day

Mid-afternoon my
creativity sags,

perhaps muse prefers
siesta to sonnets.

Taking Turns

My body
shaking from illness,
surprised by frailty,
reluctant to surrender,
puts down illusion
next to pen and says
"it's your turn now."

So I breathe
and write
and watch
plump Cardinal
calm and majestic
chow down on seed
preparing for the snow
and other unknowns.

I want to be him next
incarnation.

Heart Camera

I record
with trained eye

and silver Canon
but only my heart

captures the joy
of this moment.

Cloudy Day

The sun didn't rise
this winter morning.

Wonder if God ran
out of yeast?

He's Not Nuts

Baby Squirrel,
oblivious to my eye,
devours every sunflower
seed he can open
with tiny paws and
rapt attention.

Morning Communion

Dawn awakes,
finds squirrels and Robins
breaking bread crumbs,
munching store bought seed,
and sharing bounty.

Surely a sign of peace
this frigid New Jersey
morning.

Natural Competition

In the quiet of meditation
I hear new furnace roar

its effort to keep up with
plummeting blizzard
temperature.

Nature wins.

A Mother's Work...

Momma Cardinal
eating for six

snarfs down
sunflower seeds

followed by a
snowflake chaser.

Eating Candy

Red Mike and Ike® disappears
chewed and swallowed
spewing sugar
like rose petals
before a June bride.

Appetizer

Present to the light
my heart opens fully
like an artichoke
perfectly steamed.

Singing Bowl Song

Singing bowl cleanses
my room, caresses
my ears and lulls
both dogs to
sleep.

Impatient

Ninety pounds of birdseed,
rubber container almost full,
black sunflower seeds mix
with love as 12 birds watch.

I swear I hear their
stomachs growling.

From My Window

Leafless branches crisscross,
create intricate lattice
of wooden X's
and O's.

Hungry Starlings play
tic-tac-toe before
dining at cedar
feeder.

Misperception

Bumped by another's ego
I sprawl, bruise my
heart and think it
my fault.

Nature's Balance

(dedicated to Max)

Green bamboo devours
winter sun until gray
tabby devours
bamboo