LOOKING AT A SMALL TREE KNOT

At first glance you are an ugly blackish lump

arid  shrunk

Next you are a crouching bunny rabbit

with long ears  hiding from Farmer Brown

Then I notice  your tiny striations

at different angles

like miniature rock layers showing geologic time

Your rough surface irritates my finger

you seem to be porous   about to fall apart

I shall be careful with  you

But you are shedding fragments

messing up my paper as I write

I brush the crumbs away

I put  you down

admire your fragile intricate structure

gasp at the reckless extravagance of nature

A FLOWER CALLED WORRY

From this rose

petals plucked

now set free

waft away

worries all

one by one

DREAM GODDESS

Slim smooth snake, rising from tall grasses,

Do you bring temptation, or a store of wisdom?

I am not Eve, condemned, succumbing to your wiles.

I am the Cretan goddess, choosing to play with you.

Dance with me--let your energy insinuate my body,

Loosen my joints, permeate my muscles, liberate my spirit.

Twisting, swaying, undulating, abandoning into ecstasy--both of us free.

MUSINGS ON THE VERANDA AT FAIRVIEW GARDEN FARM, WHILE OTHERS ARE TOURING THE GROUNDS...

I have nothing to read

And no errands to run

I am sprawled in my chair

My face to the warm sun

Up above--leafless tree

All branched stark in a pose

I'm not moving--asleep

A fly lands on my nose

The tall pepper tree droops

Its dry leaves to the ground

And some tiny red berries

Are down there to be found

Old dead vines on the trunk

There's an ancient tree house

A fine refuge for children

And--oh--many a mouse

Some vague traffic I hear

But far off in the street

Fresh manure spread out

Gives my nostrils a treat

I have nothing to do

A rare moment indeed

And just being myself

Is now all that I need

AT NINETY YEARS OF AGE, JUNE 13, 2005

On the one hand:

My back is a board breaking in two

My ankle tips my foot over

My knee buckles my step

Forgotten appointments pass me by like indifferent strangers

Someone said, "Stiff upper lip"--I heard, "Jack the ripper"

"The" becomes "teh" when I type

I learn how to delete a file on my computer--next time, I learn all over again

On the other hand:

Every day for half an hour I become a vigorous fish

While driving a freeway at night, I see a cat's eyes

When I read, I spot every typo

In native French writing, I catch misspellings

In someone's logic, I find holes 

I conduct a group like an orchestra, with no score

When making love, I am an athlete

LAUGHTER IS LIKE A FEATHER

A tinkle of laughter flits around

upside-down  side-ways

now here  now there

tickling my funny bone

widening my grin