A Tree

 A Tree

 

best friend 

comfort and shade

keeps secrets 

lips sealed

 

 children climb to the very top

 keep them safe 

 catch a breeze

 hold your breath

 

selected on cold yule night

cut in the forest

yuletide symbol in it’s prime

bundled and trucked

 

by the window placed 

it happens every year

first the lights are strung

the old ornaments unwrapped

 

little red Santa you made in school

snowman of paper covered with glitter

bird in a nest   sings his song

tiny guitar        mouse trap

 

hang the icicles 

carefully          one by one

last of all          the star for the top

 

what a sight

like a bandbox

In the night

sparkling bright

 

raise a toast

and declare

you are the best of all

Christmas tree

 

Written for:  https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just Momets Before

  Memories/Just Moments Before

yes, memories can pierce

the heart like a frozen icicle

and yet, the daily things can

fall from the pocket we keep them in

 

another Friday            the exact day and the exact moment

remain forever as if in resin

turn it in your hand     

look close

 

what do you see?  within the heart

flowers float on the water

the owl and the octopus

stroll the sandy shore

 

years separate 

events tied with a fisherman’s knot

somewhere long ago      

your life began    

 

I told you I would come in the morning

you could not wait

your journey began 

just moments before 

 

in that quiet room      

number 222    

breath ceased

you are there and yet

no longer here

Written for:  https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com

 

Things I Love

 Things I Love

 

you ask, what do you love?

my answer:

 

Morning greets each day

Be it sunshine, rain or snow

I love each one

 

 sun rises above the mountains

lowly lights day’s path

I make note

 

alone in the studio

working quietly

studio gets smaller

It isn’t what it used to be

 

I begin each day drawing

timed working left hand

on paper first

abstract shapes and lines

 topped by a dash of realism

 

goal is to draw 

an abstract drawing

finished, whole and complete

 

after drawing I paint

occasionally look up

landscape appears through window

 

fields of sage

the mountains

abstract sky 

360 degrees

 

soft kitten

hot coffee 

people, young and old

memories touched once, unforgotten

 

Written for: https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Western Boots

 

Western Boots

from my studio window 

mountains to the south 

veiled in a cloudy mist

to the north     Taos Mountain

Mother Mountain

sacred mountain

stands watch

a skull visible

on the side of the mountain

the little town below the mesa

a sleepy little town in Northern New Mexico

at night like a Christmas tree

lights sparkle in the darkness

Taos history of art and artists

who came for a new scene

a new landscape to paint 

new colors, new people

two artists on the way to Mexico City

by wagon, a wheel broke just out of town

they flipped a coin 

who would take the wheel for repair?

they loved the look of the place

they never made it to Mexico City

they stayed in Taos and founded

the Taos Society of Artists

Sharp, Blumenschein, and Phillips

most days the sun shines brightly

in winter     snow

the smell of piñon smoke 

from kiva fireplaces

Written for: https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/

Note:  This is a photo in my computer.  Since I am a techno-peasant, I don't know where it came from, or how it got there.   Or how to remove it?   

 

From Flat Lands to Desert

 

From Flat Lands to Desert

to move or not to move

that is the question

we've been here

for such a long time

a place for everything

and everything in it's place

whatever it is

you can find it in the dark

I love my house

and hate to leave

but the memories 

say, it is time

go west young

or not so young woman

follow the sun

as it settles on the horizon

land of enchantment beckones

I've been in the flat land by the sea

too long, time to leave

my new home waits for me

at the foot of the mountain

in the middle of the sage

we hardly know what we are doing

but it is what we must do

no reason to argue

it is what it will be

a new life in the desert for me

starting over isn't easy

I walk in the desert

cactus stickers hurt my toes

nothing soothes the pain

Written for:  https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/

The Mundane The Ordinary The Extraordinary

 The Mundane

  The Mundane The Ordinary The Extraordinary   

 you say, he died  

died too young 

 just a boy, after all 

 too tender for this world    

I ran into you yesterday  

you say, your husband died  

a man I did not know  

I saw tears in your eyes    

another time  

I said, he died, drowned  

a fisherman   

drowned while fishing   

 the phone rang 

 you say, he died 

 just a boy after all  

the youngest of your children    

another time  

you say, she died  a beautiful young woman 

 died too young    

I stopped a man on the street  

with breaking voice 

 I said, he died, my only son  

died too young, just a boy    

Written for: https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/

Hotel

 Hotel

 

an old hotel in my hometown

made of wood

once painted white

 

paint peeled off

traces of white remained

worn and tired

 

like many of the citizens

of our old town

Mrs. Castle our next door neighbor

 

lived alone day and night

her husband died long ago

she never mentioned him?

 

perhaps it was once the place to go

the place to meet for tea

dress up 

go out

 

to see and be seen

on Friday night

Mr. and Mrs. Boots

came into town 

dinner at the hotel

 

not much happens in a small town

Mr. and Mrs. Rainbow

had their wedding party at the hotel

the talk of the town

 

no one famous ever came in

that hotel was old when I was born

I wonder does it still stand

or has it disappeared like

the town no longer on the map

Written for:  https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gratitude

 Gratitude

 

can change the world

or can change the place where you reside

the neighborhood

 

can change you

your outlook on life

change how you view others

 

I keep a bucket of gratitude

near the door

to give away 

when a neighbor comes to call

 

you can never have too much

as there is much to be grateful for

sunlight on the windowsill

 

blue sky

faraway places 

someone to love

 

colors bright and dull

textures to feel

a warm place to call home

 

so much to be grateful for

a smile across a room

a wink and…you

 

 

Written for:  https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/

Mountain Morning

 Mountain Morning

I have been to the mountain top

the view was far and wide

I could even see your house

I won't go today

I have work to do

I remain in the studio

quietly the morning breaks

in the shadow of the mountain

the sun rises on the other side

the day clear and inviting

come dip your toe in the water

the water rises as I step in

I am over my head

it happens more often than

I like to say

I think of you

that October morning

or was it September

That's right, it was September

September the 8th

from that day until the end

I will remember

the first day we met

you were just a boy

Written for:  https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/

Mother

 Mother

 

mother, a simple word

just six letters

 

“m” is for mine, meadow, meow

all the wonders of the world

wild meadow orchids

including all the colors

 

“o” ordinary, extraordinary

like the shape of a bird’s nest

a place to call home

a place to rest

 

“t” touch, tingle, tomorrow

time to feel 

shape of earth

 

“h” Henry, hobnob, 

hop skip and jump

helpless/clinging

 

“e” early, elbow, eyebrow

center of the circle

center of the world

 

“r” real, ready, regal

a little prayer for my mother

said out loud

or whispered to myself

 

my own, the one and only

MOTHER

mother

mama

Written for:  https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/

Take My Gift

 

Take My Gift

 

take my gift I give to you

bend it 

break it

tie loosely round your neck

 

it is visual

without words

colors to behold

like a ring round your finger

 

it sparkles and shines

springing rays back at you

if you listen carefully

there is a little hum

 

I don’t always know 

what is meant

sighs and symbols

keep you company all day

 

I work quietly 

in my den

a mother's cave

a sacred space

 

I hold my hand out to you

I offer you my gift

take it as your own

take my gift I give to you

Written for:  https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

Change of Season

Change of Season

 

the morning crisp

memories of other seasons

embedded in the wind

 

leaves turn

a darker green and gold

waiting for the day they will fall

the final performance

 

it happens this way

one morning 

suddenly the leaves let go

all dancing, whirling in the air

 

drop to the ground 

carpet of spring leaves grown old

dried and golden, a crunch under foot

 

 

 

 

Written for:   https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/

 

tick, tick, tick

I am amazed!

I have experienced "time" all my life

and yet, today, I realized

time seems a certain way

tick, tick, tick

and yet, I have been aware

that when doing cetain things

I have said, "my...time flies"

today I was thinking about this very idea

and aware the hands of the clock seemed to fly

12:30    1:00    2:45

there was no distance between the numbers

what was I doing? you ask

I was paiting in the studio

and knew I must finish by 2:00

working as fast as I dared

I coved the surface with a coat of paint

knowing there was no way 

I coulnotd reach the finish line    in time

I stopped and penned a line