Ode to Spring

 

 

 

we've had some springtime visitors

a grosbeak

that was mostly, a beak

then a parakeet, mouse

and a couple

ducks

a friend suggested

this would be

the right combination

for a child's 

story

the mouse

is beefy

With a muscular body

that intimates his father

was perhaps

a rat

a nine iron

is waiting to reign

blows upon him from an

impatient husband

who hates

vermin

a hill of seeds

a flash of yellow

signals an escapee on

the daily runs to 

feeder

while a cage sits

 empty

mister and missus

duck walk a promenade

he guards her dining

on my bread

they stand

patient

all the comings

and goings

in my tiny yard

with the lavendar

and oregano blooming

Spring Fire

One day in May it was so hot by nine am

That the orange sky glow seemed

Less impressive.

The kids were taking a state test, 

which trumps even their knowing

Why the sky

Filled with brown.

A fire in spring

Is a harbinger, isn't it?

The nests, the wildlife

Jerked away from life bringing

Burned to bones

You could feel that, on that day, so wrong

As we searched for all the right answers.