Winter wheat applies

a vibrant vernal verdure

averting autumn’s auburns.

~

In spite of winter

wheat’s alliterative appeal,

autumn’s auburns still persist.

~

Alas, for in time’s fullness,

even valiant verdant seas

must mature to amber waves.

Sometimes what’s unplanned

brings us more satisfaction

than our best laid plans.

~

Planning’s overblown!

The stunning often appears

around unexpected bends.

Duties owed the dead

trump actions for the living,

but is this how it should be?

~

Only the heart knows

when and why such duties have

greater precedence.

All along our walk,

Knox selects sticks and carries

them home, holding them aloft.

~

He knows winter comes

and, possessing a warm heart,

wants to assure yours won’t freeze.

Maybe the problem

is really just the season

in which we hold elections?

~

The problem is more

likely how reality

is seasoned with lies.

Rushing to do good,

we focus on arrival

rather than the path.

~

Thus the legacy

of ill-thought acts of kindness

drown in unplanned consequence.

When past indifference

wings it’s way back home to roost,

the bird’s not the one to blame.

~

When the nest is filled

with indifference, only

necessity brings us back.

Fall is pulled in two

directions- back toward Summer,

forward to Winter.

~

With all that tension

ripping the season apart,

is it surprising leaves fall?

Riotous colors

Splatter the mountain landscape;

Jackson Pollack run amok

~

And he can keep on

running as long as he leaves

so much beauty in his wake.

It seems the sun snuck

into our hearts this chilly

day and took our words away.

~

A trip to NoVa

to see a new student play

left me speechless and starstruck.

They really can go

astray especially when

the mind’s out to lunch.

~

And when lunch is skipped,

owing to Autumn yard work,

many things gang aft agley.

Absent those sponges

absorbing all that water,

how deep would the oceans be?

~

What are the sponges

in your life that prevent you

from feeling deeply?

Daylight grows shorter,

tree limbs more bare as the scent

of Fall fills the air.

~

Crisp air brushes tart

over tongue with every breath;

any step a chorus crunch.

Twenty nine hundred

brief poetic dialogues…

think we can write five thousand?

~

As you know, we both

being terse, and long-winded,

Such a feat is well in reach.

To avoid going

down rabbit holes of despair,

find positive things to share.

~

What we choose to share;

does it say more about us

or about who we share with?

When it’s finally safe

to mix again with the world,

please reconsider…

~

Keeping our distance

will bring us closer to health

AND let us be with others.

In times of endless

talk, fewer words are valued

and silence is often sought.

~

Right!

Some people collect

precious things and preserve them,

others gather memories.

~

Some people collect

hurts, complaints, and all kinds of

grievances. To each his own.

It doesn’t take much

to make Knox happy – walks, sticks,

bones, pats, praise, peanut butter.

~

Knox and I agree;

walks and peanut butter rock!

He can keep the sticks and bones.

Time passes us by

in subjective intervals

dependent on our focus.

~

Mood affects focus.

Focus affects mood and both

affect how we measure time.

Coming and going,

I travel through an arch of

golden autumn leaves.

~

Soon a skeleton

arch of barren twigs will stand

framing crystal, starlit skies.

Autumn’s first chilly

osculatory caress

ignites a colorful blaze.

~

Also the many

sneezes ignited by that

kiss can be heard near and far.

far

Murphy, our cat, spends

time each day exchanging stares

with nearby squirrels.

~

An attentive ear

may discern their dialogue,

and, thus, circumvent discord.

Imagine my shock

when I logged on Instagram

to find Momma was a meme!

~

Meme Momma, that’s me.

So I guess that makes you one

real son of a meme.

When we’re at our best,

we’re both able to accept

power and to release it.

~

So, you’re saying that

when we’re at our very best

we are great capacitors?

There’s a word for that!

But at this very moment

it completely eludes me.

~

I think the word you

are looking for is “void” which

is where those words go to hide.

Just a reminder

we could all be kinder and

thus transform our world.

~

Kindness transforms more

than just the world we live in,

it transforms our very soul.

Sunlight and shadows

dance about, the eyes, the mind,

conjuring mythic phantoms.

~

And with such dancing

paintings, stories, and poems

come into being.

Summer and Autumn

conspired today to give

us the best of both seasons.

~

When Winter and Fall

get together to hatch plans,

almost no one rejoices…

Gift simple wisdom

punctuated by a few

pointless, banal platitudes.

~

It encourages

sifting through the soil for

particles of gold.