Category: Issue 07

wind shift– the hunting dog quivers

still pond – I write my name in water with a dry stick

first cold night– the click of your domino as we play by the fire

Veteran’s Day– my chanting produces a sparrow

moonless sky so much darkness from my pen

oppressive heat from the block of flats a tuneless song

November rain buzzards drip from the water tower

after the rain – the silence between insect songs

cold fireplace – I light it up with the letters from you

autumn deepens . . . the slow stroke of a crow into the wind

leonids — the sparkle in her laugh

in falling snow a fawn browses alone – autumn dusk

crime scene a cluster of crushed begonias

meteor shower . . . a gentle wave wets our sandals

first snowfall – a city-full of student drivers

too blue for this sky late jay

Mars landing- a tendril of red dust shifts from a footfall

black fedora the blind man inspects its brim

wall calendar O’Keeffe’s moonflower droops out of the page

afternoon tea Teddy Bear takes three sugars

late autumn frost the bench gathers moonlight

a gust whirls leaves of a great ginkgo: the shadows on a shoji

winter fog — she decides to colour her hair

cormorants glide over orange bull kelp– autumn sea

first star the sound of acorn caps underfoot

winter storm seagulls are outshouting the waves

late autumn — his marriage proposal written on the sand

first chill the apple blushes as I brush off frost

first snow … the children’s hangers clatter in the closet

dawn— the bow rises with the dolphin

rainy day champignons sweat on the hot stove

the old dog’s sigh a log settles deeper into the embers

dull day — the way a raindrop runs down the banana leaf

the lustre of a moonlit snowman… winter begins

Christmas eve — the woman in the checkout line blinking back tears

christmas eve service the boy behind me prays for another mother

winter sun – on the fading narcissus the last rays

first date– letting her put snow down my neck