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