dying hurricane

seven hundred miles
this snarling wind has travelled
dying hurricane

before the sunrise

before the sunrise
the moon rushes beside me
on the way to work

learning to whistle

learning to whistle
she bounds into our bedroom
in celebration

American Dream

a Lincoln pulls in
as iron gates close behind
American Dream

this autumn morning

this autumn morning
you've outdone yourself again
crafting the sunrise

elderly mother

elderly mother
walks in hand with her daughter
beneath autumn leaves

scarred, jutting rock face

scarred, jutting rock face
blasted for the interstate
crowned in evergreens

kids at the bus stop

kids at the bus stop
excitedly looking at
some unknown treasure

the blind man shopping

the blind man shopping
insists on green bananas
from the produce clerk

cattails

the peeling cattails
dying in quiet wetlands
protest not their fate

a spaceship

with a black marker
she transforms the cardboard box
into a spaceship

first frost

first frost, I forgot
the beauty of morning wheat
crystallized in ice

guiding the backhoe

guiding the backhoe
with a conductor’s finesse
the wiry old man

an indignant tree

branches lopped & chopped
so power lines can run through
an indignant tree

outside the E.R.

outside the E.R.
a helicopter descends
life in the balance

life's disappointments

life's disappointments
I sit at the piano
recall them no more

the parking garage

the parking garage
layers of concrete darkness
welcome me to work