Why must all good things,

in order to receive them,

require so much toil?

~

A dog’s love’s freely

given as is a summer’s

breeze and star-filled nights.

Ever hopeful, we

kids kept jumping off garage

roofs, hoping, this time to fly.

~

Just like little birds,

judging that it’s fledgling time,

fling themselves into the sky.

Is there any shame

in finding satisfaction

in the unconventional?

~

We can be shamed, but

we don’t have to feel shame for

liking what we like.

This old dog learned some

new tricks and had a whole lot

of fun doing it.

~

That life long learning:

the only thing preventing

our howling in the darkness.

The day ends without

a poem, but life still has

both rhyme and reason.

~

It’s not quite an end,

more a pause that refreshes,

like that age old ad campaign.

Gradually the light

dims; then it’s gone and only

memories remain.

~

Radiant blazes,

far outshining their sources;

those glowing recollections!

Fujiyama wears

her icy tiara still.

How long until it’s stolen?

~

If those who love her

are vigilant and act in

time, she will never lose it.

Correcting glitches

one glitch at a time can leave

us feeling almost sublime.

~

Glitches can sometimes,

even though quite annoying,

actually be features.

All bristles and spines,

he makes do riding the car

rather than surfing the pines.

~

He was looking for

a free ride, a specialty

of our former president.

In the August heat

squirrels hip hop to the steady

beat of falling rain.

~

Peepers, frogs, and toads

chorus in the falling rain,

lustily, as dusk descends.

Sometimes the darkness

we watch swallowing the world

Is lighter than forlorn hope.

~

With patience, we can

find our way in the darkness

and become bearers of light.

Knox spots a critter

ahead and away he goes

as I trudge slowly behind.

~

Begorrah tries too,

but owing to his small mass,

the leash end takes him airborne.

False ferocity,

Napoleonic nature;

more like Chihuahua than Pug.

~

Hmmm, reminds me of

some people I know, but just

which ones I’d rather not say.

When will we ever

learn? When will we ever learn?

Please submit answer below.

~

The answer, my friend,

is blowing in the wind, and

we’ll learn when our house blows down.

Shining a bright light

where no light should ever shine

devastates all obstruction.

~

For some, the brightest

shining light won’t help them see

what’s been right in front of them.

Technology can

puzzle this aging writer

and leave her shaking her pen.

~

Technology can’t

replace the razor rapier

wit that guides the writer’s pen.

Who could take offense

at the joyful noise of kids

playing in the neighbor’s yard?

~

Sometimes others’ joy

brings smiles, but if our hearts

are aching, it might bring frowns.

As the last one leaves

the nest, to what far shores will

you and your spouse fly?

~

These days we’re flying

from one college to the next

but soon horizons expand!

As the hours shrink

til my impending freedom,

my spirit prepares to soar.

~

Soon you will fly high,

released at last from the pain

and fatigue that tethered you.

White, billowing clouds

glide across bluest of skies,

invite us to not be blue.

~

Who could ever be;

when that one looks like a cat

and that one like an emu?

Some folk got to learn

how to live their lives

not being drama magnets.

~

As we learn to be

teflon rather than velcro

for drama, contentment grows.

Even the squirrels

have lost their sizzle these hot

August afternoons.

~

The only sizzle

these days is the ozone smell

of our frying atmosphere.

Creativity,

although some times illusive,

often expands with practice.

~

If we want to catch

illusive butterflies, we

have to show up with a net.

From these sundry ills,

despite all my best efforts,

recovery is slow.

~

May the healing force

be with you and may you soon

recover your strength.

My fellow poet,

wherefore art thou? I have looked,

but you’re not in sight.

~

Catching up on sleep

after long hours working

in the Sun for other folks.

Today’s hidden poem

is asking to be found. Are

you ready to play?

~

Pond holds sky’s fallen

tears as nearby trees softly

sway with soothing lullabies.

~

Languid in that heat;

humidity oppressive,

relieved by sudden showers.

College kids these days!

“That car has no esthetic!

I can’t drive my friends in that!”

~

Maybe they just need

an antiseptic to ease

their entitlement.

With deep purple blooms

gone, hummingbirds are gone too

leaving us to hum alone.

~

Butterflies remain

and hummingbirds still hover

where polyculture blossoms.

Some hope for free flight,

to soar graceful as birds,

high on thermals and breezes.

~

We can try to move

with grace even if we aren’t

able to fly high.