This was a project I did basically during the pandemic. I started writing a poem a day. Once ‘real life’ started again it got harder to write everyday, which is interesting.
Ode to Thanksgiving (2020)
toast
eggs
coffee
tea
breakfast is a time for me
yum
chomp
gulp
munch
I find myself enjoying lunch
popcorn
nuts
chips
crack crack crack
it is time for my afternoon snack
it is no wonder
I’m not thinner
now I’m ready for my dinner!
A little ode to the tradition of eating on the US Thanksgiving Holiday. 🦃
Grateful for you. ❤️
The Nest of the Ignored
She steps into the steeping brew of the cafe
Stories and dreams held close, fluttering to escape
Smiles
Hugs
Laughs
Settling
Now the words pour out, some strong and some weak
They rush and they are warm and they are wanting
These urgencies, these fragile utterances
fly with purpose
wish for witness
With great hope they travel
only to find
eyes pointed elsewhere
posture slack
a wounding vacancy of attention
A slight inward breath
gather gather here, inside
there there now, mommy is here
She splits herself in two
Pushes the button labeled automatic
Asks a question; nods on cue
If you look behind her now, maybe a little to the left, you can see her there
Hunched over her nest of the ignored
Her back is turned, she does not look at you
Why should she?
a mystery solved
a riddle-like dilemma shows itself today
i find myself here again with nothing much to say
should it be an image that i conjure in my mind
should it be a concept that i search inside to find
should it be a missive to a friend so dear
should it be a story with a moral tier
the challenge here we see, now come into view
is to answer the question, what thing should i do?
what direction to take, what thing should i make
which words to write down, try clever or clown
and isn’t it easier to simply track the truth
and find that in so doing i become a sleuth
i’ve solved the very mystery that seemed in my way
looks like i have found yet another thing to say
we all have our quirks
changing a pattern can be rather hard
call it a habit, a rhythm, or mode
the things that drive us, our own life code
to make real change takes quite a large effort
you can read loads of books and decide from your gut
only to find yourself still in that rut
there are two paths here that seem rather true
the first: do nothing and stay where you are
this is a sure way to not get very far
the second: keep trying to find your own way
if one approach does not work, try something new
don’t let yourself get stuck in this is the way I have to
there are infinite ways, we all have our quirks
we are all just a little bit different you see
what works for you might not work for me
this thing that i love
deep in my heart
I am grateful for you
for the time you spend reading
for the things that you do
sending a heart
or sharing a smile
I’ve done this 100 days now
that is quite a long while
long enough it seems
to make a new pattern
but not long enough
to make a trip to Saturn
not that I want to go there
it seems rather cold
I plan to stay here
I have my practice to hold
let’s end things quite simply
with this way to be heard
with this thing that I love
let us end with … words.
beholding questions
i want to live in a place where questions are held
and examined and loved and even beheld
the truth lives in answering…not in getting it right
we are in motion and then, well, good night
i’m holding the questions
deep in my heart
and hoping somehow
they turn into art
then i can share them
spread them around
make something good
find my own ground
the truth lives in answering... i won't get it right
i hope to keep going and then, well, good night
fun & games
Peter chuckled.
Ruby laughed.
Stella finally buckled
and Shawn played the giraffe.
Leo guffawed.
Carol kept score.
Boonter pawed
and Kim wanted more.
Tim was smiling.
Ken was too.
They were all having fun,
how about you?
unknown footprints
if there had been footprints there was no way of knowing
whoever walked here before will remain unknown
i may imagine to feel something, walking in the wind
i do imagine, i do not know
i do feel someday my footprints will be unknown
i wonder if they will be imagined?
what remains, i do not know, walking in the wind
marigold (part 4)
I will tell you a story now
of that same Detectives’ Club meeting
the last of the members finally arrived
and here was the sound of their greeting.
Mildred and Mattie were fighting
as sisters sometimes do
“squeak squeak squeak” they both cried loudly,
“I am mad at you!”
Reginald was a regal looking skunk
he was sitting quietly
wondering why he was summoned
his tail high in the air, waving sprightly.
Stan was a slightly surly
fairly round racoon
he could be trusted to take a nap
every afternoon.
He looked as if he might
fall asleep right now
but Marigold starting speaking
and got his attention somehow.
“Thank you all for coming
to our first official meeting.
The Detectives’ Club has our first case!
My heart is really beating!”
“I want to tell you all what I know so far.
Please everyone listen closely.
I only know very little really
just what I found mostly.”
“I was walking around this morning
and noticed something odd
there was this red pencil sitting
just all alone on a big log.”
(At this point Marigold held up the pencil.
She wasn’t touching it with her fingers,
she was using two leaves as little makeshift gloves…
you know, she didn’t want to disturb any fingerprints!)
“I looked around and saw nothing more
and I saw no real clues.
But maybe I missed something…
explore the scene of the crime, that is what we should do!”
At the mention of the words clue and crime
the mood in the Detectives’ Club Clubhouse
changed and the excitement was like just before opening birthday presents…
Mildred and Mattie were tittering and twittering and their tails were quivering!
Bernice’s eyes seemed to grow to twice their normal size!
Cody looked like he might jump right out of his skin.
I don’t think a squirrel ever looked so excited!
(Well, maybe when finding a long buried nut.)
Reginald’s tail looked taller and more bushy than ever.
His face may not have changed, but his tail told the tale.
Stan, well, he mostly still looked surly and a little tired,
but if you looked very closely, you would have seen his nose
and whiskers were twitching pretty wildly!
“I think that right now we should
head back there and see.
I will lead us all
to the place under the tree
where I found the pencil
and we can look for clues
but don’t disturb anything
whatever you do!”
And so the chase begins,
the club is is on the case.
To see them all earnest now
would put a smile on any face.
Let’s leave our friends
to make this walk alone
we will join them once again
when they enter the clue finding zone!
marigold (part 3)
I will tell you a story now
of later that very same day.
The Detectives’ Club had gathered
in their own unique way.
The clubhouse is more of makeshift
tent made of sticks and a tarp.
It sits under some willow trees
and the ground under has nothing sharp.
In the middle of the clubhouse
made of a giant old piece of tree
is a wobbly table
and around it do sit three.
Here we have Marigold
anxious to get started.
And Bernice is here, feathers fluffed
ready to be very smart.
Also here is Cody, a cute little squirrel
and Marigold’s best good friend.
Cody has a wild imagination
he can always pretend.
In fact we hear him now…
offering ideas
for how the pencil got here
they call this his idea diarrhea. (YUCK!)
"Well, it could have been a construction worker making plans
or wait, there is no construction planned.
Or maybe there was a school teacher who brought her class here,
but wait – wouldn’t we have seen them?
I bet it was dropped from a survey helicopter
or maybe it was a pencil delivering drone who dropped it by mistake!
Is there such a thing as pencil delivering drones?
Maybe late at night, when we are all sleeping, pencils come to life!
Maybe there is a whole world of pencils and pens and paper that are alive
and we just haven’t met them yet - oh my, that is an exciting idea!
I know! It was a ninja who stopped here on her way to a great adventure
and she was marking her map! Yes that has to be it!
Or wait - I’m sure this is it!! There must be a pencil salesman who is here
in our town and he was taking a shortcut and one of the pencils dropped from
his case! Yes yes, that has to be it!
Marigold, I think I solved it !!!"
"Oh Cody, I love you. And maybe you are right.
but we have to find some clues,
make your ideas airtight!"
Bernice looks quite annoyed,
but kindly says, in her owl-ey voice,
"hooowoo Cody, woowhere doo yoouu
get yyooouuur ideas? Toooooo many choooiicces!"
Maybe Cody is right
and he has solved the mystery.
But we won’t know until later
because for now, this story is history.
(Please close the book now,
you can come back later.
Also, I’m sorry Owl Speak is hard to read
but I’m sure you can manage if you try.)
marigold (part 2)
I will tell you a story now
of a bright Tuesday morning
when Marigold gathered the Detectives’ Club
without really much warning.
She had found a pencil
sitting on a stump
back in the back of the gardens
where there is mostly only leaf lumps.
"How does a pencil get here?
It can’t just come from the sky.
We have to investigate quickly.
We have to figure out why?"
Just as she was hatching her plan
along came Mildred and Mattie.
They were young little mouse twins -
Mildred was kind; Mattie could be bratty.
“Good Morning Marigold,” squeaked little Mildred.
“We are out exploring and how are you?”
Marigold knelt right down and spoke direct to both,
“I’m so glad you are here, we have so much to do!”
"I found this mysterious pencil, just lying right over there!
How did it get here? I see no real clues.
We have our first real mystery, we have to gather the club!!
Everyone is welcome, even if they haven’t paid dues!"
Mattie was very excited, her tail was practically quivering!
“Marigold, I will run and get Reginald. Mildred, you can get Stan.
Oh my this is so so exciting!!
Is this a very good plan?"
"Yes, it is perfect Mattie. That leaves Bernice and Cody.
I will go and find them now, I hope neither are out.
Just gather at the clubhouse and wait
and if you need anything just shout."
The twins scampered away and
Marigold quickly turned. Now making her way
towards the large grove of oak trees
where Bernice the Owl usually stayed.
For now perhaps we set this down
and leave a little tension
oh but one thing, I did forget to mention…
The title of this story is:
The Case of the Appearing Pencil
marigold (part 1)
Between two smallish hills
tucked between two big mountains
lived a young girl named Marigold
her house, it had a fountain.
The neighbors called it Flower House
because it was almost covered
by plants and flowers everywhere
paradise for bees when discovered.
Marigold was very bright
a clever sharp young girl
what most people didn’t know
her best friend was a squirrel.
Marigold had a ton of friends
who lived right in the gardens
and if you think this makes her silly
I would say, I beg your pardon.
For a clever young girl to make friends
with what lives around her
this may sound preposterous
but your judgment, do defer.
You may come to love them all
these creatures great and small
I will tell you a story now
the does describe them all.
(A note to you dear reader: A new world we enter today. I’ve met Marigold before, in my imagination. The time has come for her to come out to play.)
a giant cake for an ogre
I want a giant cake !
Tom the Ogre screamed and yelled
he was know as the biggest brat
in this family of ogres who smelled
they lived under the bridge
between two smallish hills
they mostly kept to themselves
but today Tom’s voice rang shrill
people in the near villages
they could hear this wild sound
what in the world could make that noise?
was it coming from under the ground?
is there a storm coming?
is it a bird in the sky?
Tom just kept on yelling
and you may be asking why?
it was Tom’s birthday
he was turning six
and his mom had made him a special treat
of mud and dirt and sticks
(did you think ogre’s ate cake like ours?
well now, that would be silly
they don’t eat like us at all
although, I have to say they do like chili )
Tom was a spoiled bratty tot
he thought his cake was too small
even though you would be surprised
it was already 3 feet tall
Tom went on yelling
for a really really long time
his ogre family ignored him though
they stuffed their ears with slime
something funny happened now
it actually started to storm
and so the villagers they assumed
Tom’s screaming was really the norm
there are some folks who, to this day
will say this when it thunders
the ogres must be having a party
who wants more cake now I wonder?
Wizzelly won the race
Wizzelly won the race
he got the great big prize
his mom took him to get a treat
he got ice cream, oversized!
he got home and changed his clothes
and sat on the side of his bed
his mind starting bringing up some wonky thoughts
so he went downstairs instead
but he found himself real restless
couldn’t quite settle down
he was really quite a little grouch
and his mom said “what’s that frown?”
and Wizzelly blurted out
and the tears started to run
"Mom, mom I cheated!
I should not have won!!"
she sat down beside him
and asked what he had done
she told him he would have to tell
and it would not be too much fun
but here’s the thing she did
that might, maybe, surprise
instead of yelling at the him
she looked into his eyes
she said "I still love you Wizzelly.
I don’t like that you chose to cheat.
But you can work to fix that now,
but my love is still complete."
Wizzelly, he was sobbing
and he hugged his mom so tight
because he knew he had done wrong
but that he would be all right
it turns out we aren’t perfect
we all do make mistakes
it helps us learn our lessons
when our hugs and love aren’t at stake
the clear line
take a step
and a next step again
find your own path
the way that you wend
keep on going
and going indeed
no matter direction
no matter speed
the way that you go
it is yours to explore
no need to measure
no need to keep score
when you look back
you see a clear line
but walking forward
the clear way you must find
show off like a flower
a flower doesn’t care if you pay attention
she will show off and enjoy her time in the sun
no matter what
give me a patch of light and I will shine baby shine!
a tree doesn’t care if you notice him
he will stand tall and grow taller and wave wildly
in the wind and in the rain
give me time and let me show you what I can do!
the dirt doesn’t ask to be recognized
she will quietly and slowly do her work
always giving and working to replenish
give yourself to me and I will take all good care!
to shine, be stable, give care
perhaps we learn something here
from our earthly co-inhabitants
we don’t have to wait to be seen
to do our good work in the world
cheating
I think I cheated yesterday
I didn’t really mean to
I bent the rules to my mood
but today it seems quite true
the person hurt by cheating
is none other than yourself
the rules are meant for something
don’t just sit them on the shelf
some rules seem so silly
no reason for them to be
but if we make them for oursleves
we ought their rule to heed
maybe yesterday
was just a minor infraction
the good news is it gave my practice
some much needed traction
no more words
Has it finally happened
I have run out of words?
It seems so surprising
but I really can find none
this is so very absurd.
make a better world
share a smile
give a hug
imagine something neat
walk outside
kiss a tree
walk in your bare feet
in a world that wobbles
that seems filled with hard things
my wish for you on this day
is that your heart can sing
a little tune of wonder
a short song of delight
to be here is a miracle
trust that all will be all right
i know it isn’t easy
you might be afraid
here is what I’m hoping
that love and wonder, they can braid
i think if that can happen
if we all do tend our thread
a new world can be opened
a new thought it will spread
so let’s stand together
and all start weaving now
make a better world
i know we can
somehow