a seasonal offering

The first poem is a timely one because 'tis the season, and I have included the second one for being the first's equinoctial companion.  For their simplicity and precision (if I may humbly congratulate myself), I am often jealous of these poems when I look back at them and I try to emulate the effect as often as possible though mostly without success. 

Easter

My family at church,

I watch the birds again.

How they flick millet

and thistle, hunting

sunflower seeds.

Chipmunks forage

under the azaleas.

The maple leaves

are splayed and jazzing.

Everything moves—

Grows through loam,

Flies and feeds.

I should join in.

Find crannies

For the candy eggs,

Filth my fingernails

Unearthing weeds.

Anything but this:

Sun-shy on the deck,

Watching from my

Rocking-chair—

reach, retreat, reach, retreat—

waiting for the bells

so I can close

my eyes and sing.

(first published in Steam Ticket, v. XIV, spring 2011)

Jacket Pockets

Autumn is a time to feel things in our jackets we haven’t felt

            For at least a year—

The folded five

And the coffee shop receipt,

The peppermint in plastic

And the crumpled reminder to self—

When, from the warmth of pockets, we hear the crackle

Of a dead leaf

And feel its dusty bones.

(first published in Muse and Stone, Summer 2011)