Do we reach beyond

our normal, rational, selves

when we presume to create?

~

Indeed it is true

and life is more interesting

when we do so reach.

As poets we don’t

know where our words will take us,

but we do enjoy the ride.

~

We find pleasure in

knowing neither origin

nor direction in our work.

To carry or not

to carry an umbrella …

that was yesterday’s question.

~

Yesterday’s rainfall

would likely have exceeded

any umbrella’s limits.

Rising and shining

is considered virtuous.

Is this just propaganda?

~

Sinking and dimming

aren’t considered virtuous,

but appeal to the weary.

Pollen covered pond

lies still, waiting for the rain

to wash its troubles away.

~

Careless are the trees,

scattering widely their seed,

hoping to impregnate fish?

Why are invasive

flowers all so beautiful

and equally reviled?

~

It could be said that

we’ve gotten it wrong and that

we are the real invaders.

A small, dark creature

scampered across the yard. I

was relieved it had no stripes.

~

I enjoy it when

small darknesses come calling;

the great dark blobs-not so much.

Dear, I hope you know

family stories poking fun

all translate to “I Love You”.

~

When we count the ways

family members show their love,

some add while others subtract.

Knox stands in the sun,

inviting the squirrels to come

for a morning run.

~

Squirrels stand on branches

mocking Knox out in the sun

waiting for him to go in.

If I am not free

to disagree civilly,

can I be called truly free?

~

Is it the land of

the free when peaceful protests

and selected books are banned?

When will we ever

learn that enough is really

and truly enough?

~

Enough is enough?

Egregious quitter talk

To the mass consumptionists!

Does the fact we can

contemplate God’s existence

imply we Do have free will?

~

The fact that we can

affirm, deny, or ignore

suggests that we do.

Watching my green lawn

slowly fill with yellow blooms

won’t endear me to neighbors.

~

All yellow blossoms

are not, by nature, evil,

Unless you’re a greenskeeper.

Is humanity,

I fervently hope and pray,

more than just taxonomy?

~

We can only hope

humanity will become

defined by its humaneness.

I don’t know if those

two woodpeckers thought they could

bring down that tree but they tried.

~

Woodpeckers prefer

their trees to remain upright.

That way, their snacks are cleaner.

Why won’t current flow

Through my tractor as it should

Instead of through my ankle?

~

Could the current be

telling you that you’re the one

that needs to get up and go?

Yellow butterfly

flits about in morning light,

glad the rain has stopped.

~

Our Irish kin say

it is a departed soul

peaceful in the afterlife.

Earth Day came and went

And I didn’t mow the lawn

or at least not all of it.

~

I’m sure the birds sang

with joy not to have to

compete with that lawn mower.

The sun failed to bless

us with golden light on this

gloomy Sunday morn.

~

Overcast brings joy

Of another caliber

to life’s peaceful arsenal

Old Albert Hofmann,

the day after biking high,

pressed onward in his research.

~

He had hopes that through

LSD we’d come to see

nature and ourselves deeply.

Hoping to find some

magic, they traveled the world.

All the time, it was at home.

~

Using arcane keys

found on various journeys

opened hidden doors to them.

When linemen gather

Discussing state of the art

Sparks are sure to fly

–

When poets gather

the sparks they strike create rhymes

in search of created verse.

The road was lined with

buttercups bringing color

to an otherwise gray day.

~

Though the grey highway

winds its way into the gloom

buttercups gild its passage.

Somewhere in between

My idea and your reading

A poem is born

~

And even if not

one person reads it, it’s here

alive and waiting.

Knox briefly paused, then

quickly chased that retreating

fox, inviting him to play.

~

As the quick brown fox,

spying a quite spry young pup,

chose to quickly quit the field.

As days grow longer,

instead of dancing all night,

why choose an early bedtime.?

~

Choices increase as

options expand. How will we

spend this increase in daylight?

They dine together,

those two cardinals, but take

time for a beak to beak kiss.

~

Those beaky smoochers

need to be together more

to curtail public displays!

Awash in numbers

Eyes pulsating with fatigue

Just take the money, I beg!

~

All our resources

are taxed by April fifteenth

each and every year.

Before the sun’s up

they are, these cats, dogs, and birds,

telling us to rise and shine.

~

Choose not to succumb

no matter how insistent

their demanding seems

Must poetry be

analyzed and sterilized

in professorial form?

~

Not unless you want

poetry to slowly be

stripped of its vitality.