Winter

slow falling snow
lightly dusts an empty field
with winter

Clear Lake -- miso soup

clear lake enclosed
entirely within
a bowl of miso

curled, dry leaves

crunch of curled, dry leaves
on a walkway that morning
after the time change

Mole Day (Oct. 23)

his number measures
mass of everything
avocados, too

Many a middle school teacher has heard reference to an "Avocado's number."

shooting stars leave trails
to destinations unknown
Godspeed, travelers

Mud dauber wasps

little gray condos
under a window sill
wasps' pied-à-terre

Silver dollar moon

Silver dollar moon
over a clear, still lake
fall evening

Her final journey

she readies herself
for her final journey
with faith her compass

skipper butterfly, first flight

its wings flutter
as it makes its first flight
flashes of bright blue

Florida executes Manuel Valle 28 Sept. 2011

his gaunt, old body
strapped to a gurney waiting
for a lethal dose

Rosary

Rosary held
by hands once smooth now gnarled
promises kept

skate key

rusty skate key
found in a crowded attic
bruised knee memories

lost symphonies

faded ticket stub
found in an old coat's pocket
lost symphonies

9/11 shadows

Bright autumn morning
bluest of skies overhead
then two dark shadows

Tuesday morning, 9/11/2001

Ordinary morning
bluest of skies, crisp, clear air
until the shadows

City Blackbirds

umbrellas take flight
on a windy afternoon
so many blackbirds

Number 2 pencils

Number 2 pencils
small hands hold them so tightly
while they bubble in

Hiroshima survivor

burns cover her face
dirt, blood, and tears stain her dress
she holds a riceball

Murder of the Romanov Grand Duchesses

that July morning
each clinging to each other
sisters to the end

El Greco's Penitent Magdalene

her sorrowful eyes
remain fixed on her Master's
no words are needed

raindrop

another raindrop
finds its way down my t-shirt
refreshing tingle

dairy illusion

front and hindquarters
seemingly unattached
Dutch Belted cow

Pigs at a trough

jowls to jowls they crowd
pigs along a feeding trough
glint of sharp knives

Castle under siege

Castle under siege
by a determined foe
the rising tide

Commencement Day

his rough hands hold hers
no words are said or needed
commencement day

for all the grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles whose smiles speak volumes
at graduation ceremonies throughout the land

Remembering Kent State, May 4 1970

that spring day
the flowers have long faded
yet we remember

reflection on the mirror

the mirror reflects
a face I know so well
dad's

Egret

perched on a guardrail
of a busy highway
an egret preems

"Noli me Tangere" -- the first Easter

Her tear-moistened eyes
look at his gentle face
no words are needed


Christ is Risen!

in memory of two heroes - Gagarin and Komarov

life everlasting
uniting two brothers
Yuri and Vladimir

Gagarin's Flight

Too young to know fear
he becomes impatient --
"let's go." -- Gagarin

Death steals a young life in Rio

Her math assignment
only with few erasures
now stained with her blood

Teilhard de Chardin

reaching for heaven
as both priest and scholar
Teilhard's convergence

Lost Umbrellas

My lost umbrella
joins all the others misplaced
by careless owners

Sailboats

Under a spring moon
sailboats riding at anchor
that early morning

Morning stillness

Morning stillness
under a bright, spring moon
a small lake shimmers

first dawn of spring

first dawn of spring
horizon blushes pink
I resume my walk

spring moon

sheltering waters
reflect the spring moon
to the shore

pink bear cub rescued, Japan

A pink bear cub ?
her cries attract rescuers
caution: she's hungry

a four month old baby girl was found by rescuers. When found, she looked just fine; cute as button in her pink bear cub pjs.

Salty tears

salty tears return
to the sea
our tired, dry eyes

Awakenings

flutter of butterflies
clang of temple bells
awakenings

Japan Quake

the ground gives way
and sea rushes in
uninvited

bloody feathers

bloody feathers
found in a small clump
owl's work

Vuelta al parque

Parasols in hand
they take their walks
leisurely.

Winter's Grip

no forcing spring from
winter's grip this time
sleet, cold rain, and snow

Bessie Smith

I ain't good lookin'
-- so Bessie once said
angel child of blues

Spring flowers

Early spring flowers
unaware
of their poetry

Urban spring

Cracks on a sidewalk
hidden by trash, grass and weeds
urban spring

Passing of baseball royalty

Of Brooklyn's peerage
the heart of the order
Duke Snider

Mare Crisium

Fountain pen ink spill
not contained by a blotter
Mare Crisium

Christchurch, NZ

Under the rubble
a pram's wheels, a torn blanket
nothing more

Bring a plate to Kiwis!

Good on you, mates
the quake leaves you bloody
but unbowed

Rafters on the Florida Straits

on old inner tubes
they cling -- barely
a wide, wide sea

Malcolm Little - Malcolm X - El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, American

Salaam, Malcolm
your walk ended too soon
the road calls

from a past war (any war)

Wet snow falls slowly
on a young deserter who
shivers and cries softly

One last tango

Fragrance of mothballs
On a rusty black suit pressed
For one last tango

Denounce human trafficking especially that which preys on children

Mascara can't hide
her eyes of a child
from circling hawks


too many nations still have failed to comply with the United Nations' Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons. often the victims are children still in grade school.

Morning tea

Roiling green froth
about to spill over
-- my morning tea

Solidarity with right over might -- God bless the people of Egypt

Whips in hand they charge
-- lashing at the crowds
who hold their ground

A young victim at Moscow Airport

she is done crying
now she slowly rocks herself
her wide open eyes

Evening toast

Lengthening shadows
day gives up -- reluctantly
we toast the evening

Moscow airport bombing victim

rivulets of red
running down her pale young face
she clutches a doll

Viva Vivaldi!

two in honor of the "red priest", Anna Giro, and the wayward girls from Ospedale
della Pietà


a bit of springtime
cheers him in January
his thoughts of Anna

Risque Vivaldi
his girls with their mandolins
trouble the censors

in honor of Jan. 20, 1961 -- JFK's Inaugural

An old poet reads
words held in his memory
that bright, cold noonday

spider's web

a spider's new web
glistening with morning dew
and stuck in my hair

Blackbird rain

New Year's sky darkens
five thousand blackbirds raining
on shocked onlookers