Arise! Face today,

despite the summoning cry

of the blankets’ warm embrace.

~

Forget yesterday’s

gloom. Today we are greeted

with shimmering light.

Even the sky cries

on this day remembering

the insurrection.

~

Tears amount to naught

in the hearts of heartless men

feasting on their avarice.

Her chill insertion

into my dreaming hours

fills me with wonder and dread

~

It’s hard to be chill

when wonder and dread come to

us when sleeping or awake.

Unexpected cold,

especially in the house,

is not to be accepted.

~

Growing heated

does no good so we cooly

called the experts for some help.

Here in Virginia

January’s first day was

gray. How I long for the sun!

~

From here, every day

of this freshly newborn year

has nowhere to go but up!

Oh… that still morning

before the dogs’ insistent

barking drags us from our beds

~

New year’s first morning

begins with a call. Listen.

Who knows what else you will hear?

2024

is knocking at our door, but

what will it demand of us?

~

An election year

demands ear-plugs, ipecac,

and this time…digitalis.

Fundamental truths

sometime are so obvious

one expression won’t suffice.

~

Oblivious to

the obvious, we make our

slow push to oblivion.

Impervious to

reason and compassion, he

lumbers and blunders along.

~

Thundering aloud

all the repressed vitriol

those of privilege camouflage.

Impervious to

reason and compassion, he

lumbers and blunders along.

~

Boundless obstinance

in the face of certain truth

highlights the canker within.

Backs against the wall,

desperate men with a lost cause

stoop to vilify the dead.

~

Trying to maintain

their grip, they end up loosing

it and vomiting bile.

The sky is crying.

Maybe the sky didn’t get

what it wanted for Christmas.

~

Cerulean tears

soak into the umber earth

feeding seeds of verdant growth.

Eating Christmas Cow

with sizable sides of borscht

may not be traditional.

~

Neither are texts filled

with name callings sent out by

disgruntled ex-presidents.

Tis the day before

Christmas and all through the house

chaos reigns but there’s no mouse.

~

All those absent mice,

anticipating chaos,

seized the reins and fled.

Into the tumult

of this year’s Christmas season,

caroling with abandon.

~

Christmas is the time

to abandon self-focus

and rejoice with each other.

After that meeting

I gargled with garlic to

get the bad taste from my mouth.

~

Garlic gargling

has much to recommend it,

far beyond the zesty breath.

Timeless classic tales,

rich with archetypal flair,

never fail to inspire.

~

Inspiration comes

in many forms and for that

I am most grateful.

With each weather change

my bones complain and there’s no

reasoning with them.

~

Our well seasoned bones

express salty vinegar

when we refrigerate them.

Bare branches contrast

against the cloudless heavens:

naked living arteries.

~

The heart of nature

beats in every living thing

even when we’re not aware.

After rainy days

our appreciation for

sunshine rocks the sky.

~

As those rains soak in,

the parched earth sighs in relief

and welcomes the sun again

Beneath blanket mounds

sheltered from all sight and sounds

lowly worms lay pupating.

~

There are many days

when I envy those wise worms

who allow transformation.

He released himself

from a self-imposed exile

and sprang into life.

~

Only to find strife

fundamentally unchanged

in his un-noted absence.

The fog slowly lifts

revealing forgotten light

where recently darkness reigned.

~

Although fog can add

a note of mystery, it’s

a relief to see clearly.

There are days when we

draw a blank and the best we

can do is blank verse.

~

Verse is hard to find

when planning memoria

for those who remain.

Winter wonderland –

went to bed with a cold rain,

awoke to light snow.

~

A welcome surprise

that ephemeral snowfall

thankfully gone by mid-day.

Winter thunderstorms,

unseasonal in fury,

arrive unexpectedly.

~

Expecting the worst,

we were relieved when the storm,

though persistent, was mild.

Sunny Saturday

makes us hope Sunday’s forecast

of heavy rain will not last.

~

Either rain or snow

depending how the winds blow…

like roulette, no one’s to know.

Once again, we rise

a day like any other

another year commences

~

Each day has its own

challenges and joys. Thankful

that I am here to meet them.

Let’s pause every day

to name and savor something

we are thankful for.

~

I give thanks today

for the grace I give myself

when my attention wanders.

The body betrays

spirit’s heartfelt desire

on its cusp of blossoming.

~

Just when we’re about

to realize what we’ve longed for,

our aging bodies say no.