Jefferson Avenue

Tree lined street
Like a stained glass
Cathedral dome.

Branches interlacing fingers
Above the Avenue
Like hands raised in praise.

The hush of fallen leaves
Whisper a prayer
To the Deity of Fall.

Autumn Haiku

Stuck in school meetings
On a beautiful fall day
I know how kids feel.

Milestone 100
By Gary

A blog a day
Keeps the blues away
Your optimism on life
Shows us all the strife
We all encounter
Each day
And turns it into poetry
In emotion.
Happy 100th blog
We all know you better now.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Science Class

I told the class
The tree ate the sun.
Golden leafy orb
Outside our window.
Observations
As we start our day.

WorldWideWeb

Arms wide open

To embrace the world.

A softened stance

To absorb its hug.

Seeing others as

Merely strangers

Before a handshake.

Touching fingertips

Releasing energy

Accepting humanity

With a welcoming kiss.

Reality TV

I can't stand TV sitcoms

With laugh tracks.

It's like having to explain the joke.

Life doesn't come

With a laugh track.

You have to be ready

To catch the punch line.

A Cold Autumn Day

Animals store up food for the winter.

Comfort food makes a satisfying

Cold weather reward.

Bears hibernate.

Climbing under the warm blankets

Makes sense.

Birds fly south for the winter.

I think that seems like a good idea

Right about now.

Who says we're smarter

Than animals?

The Library

So many books
So little time...
To see the kids get excited about a book
Silently pouring over it
Or talking and laughing about it.
Their delight is contagious.
Perks of a teacher
And library volunteer.

Champs

The excitement of September-
The whole city comes together
To watch our team compete.
The pride
The thrill
The fun!

Here's the wind up
And the pitch.
It's gone
Touch 'em all Minnesota Twins!

Pizza Memories

Was it the thin crispy crust
Or the local fresh vegetables?
Was it the warm spring day
Or the sunny patio?
Was it the pleasant conversation
Or the intimate silences?
Or was it just eating pizza in Italy
That made it the best pizza ever?

Long Day Monday

Driving home,

Sunset down the road

Setting the trees on fire.

Burnished branches

Reflecting the sun's goodnight.

Essence

Somewhere between the joy of childhood

And the responsibility of adulthood

We lose ourselves.

The freedom of innocence

Gives way to the trap of cynicism.

It's usually not one traumatic event

But a slow chipping away

That sculpts us.

Leaving our essence at the core

But buried by years of grime.

Till mid-life awakening

We see ourselves in photographs.

And maybe catch a glimpse

Of that former self.

Standing in front of the mirror

Washing away the wear of years

And trying to recapture

The joy of life.

Birthday Boy

I remember changing your diapers.

You called me Quatzleenie

Because you couldn't pronounce a hard K yet.

I read you the Night Before Christmas

For the whole month of December.

I pushed you in your stroller

And fed you strained peas.

I repeatedly picked up

The bottle you threw from your crib.

It's hard to reconcile you

With that little boy.

But still, sometimes I see him peep out.

You were so cute and innocent.

You loved everyone

And everyone loved you.

You made them smile.

You were so open and honest

And always asking why?

Rough and tumble on the outside

Kind and thoughtful on the inside.

Your smile could break a heart.

Happy Birthday, brother!

Catnap

Every time a cat takes a nap

It's like a new day.

Morning time

Time to stretch

Time for breakfast

Time to get petted again

Time to take another nap.

No wonder they have seven years

To our one-

They have a lot more mornings!

Nothing To Sneeze At

Head cloudy
With a chance of breathing.
Possible shower
Pouring from eyes and nose.
Temperatures rising.
Scattered sneezing
With prolonged periods of coughing.
Early morning fog.
Forecast for allergy season.

One word-DMB
Or is that three
Dave Matthews Band tonight!

Brainstorming

A whirlwind of ideas

Tossed out to float in the air

And see if they'll take flight.

Second Week of School

Monday morning

Start of a new week.

Lesson plans in order.

Ideas percolating over the week

Coming to fruition.

A fresh start

A new beginning

A blank square on the page.

Till Monday evening

When all the plans have changed.

Cherish

You said cherish

Is something you do inside.

I disagree

I think it's also visible on the outside.

I cherish our time together

By holding your hand.

I cherish your sense of humor

By laughing at your jokes.

I cherish our past

With a stack of photo albums.

I cherish our families

As we gather together.

I cherish the home we've made

As I weed the garden.

I cherish our future

As we look forward together.

I cherish you-

Inside and out.

Saturday

Languidly lying in bed

Sun kissing the curtains

Thinking about getting up.

Thinking about

Pulling back the warm covers,

Planting two feet on the floor

and slipping into fuzzy slippers.

Lingering over the newspaper

At a breakfast of blueberry pancakes.

Lounging by the window

Drinking in the sunshine.

Lazily climbing back

Under the covers

And thinking about getting up...

There's nothing tireder than a teacher

On Friday night...

Unless it's a teacher

After Happy Hour

On Friday night!

A Stretch

No pain, no gain.
Stretching muscles
That haven't been used
Whether brains, brawn, or imagination
Use it or lose it.
Exercise
Push/pull
Release of endorphins
Relax back into entropy
Feel the burn.

Testing

Tests to test how smart you are

Don't test the heart.

Tests to score how well you do

Say nothing to your soul.

Test to see if you can compete

Don't allow for cooperation.

Tests will never really show

How good you are or how far you'll go.

Rules

You can do anything

That helps you learn

And doesn't interfere

With others learning.

You don't have to sit still

But dancing on the desk

Could be distracting.

You don't have to be silent

But your singing

Could be annoying.

You don't have to know

All the answers

But it's more fun to share.

You don't have to stay between the lines

But it helps

If we can decipher it.

You don't have to smile all the time

But at least feel good about yourself

And know that

You can do anything

That helps you learn

And doesn't interfere

With others learning.

Labor Day

Sit still.

Brain focused

On nothing more

Than what's outside the window.

Birds flitting frantically

Catching a feast of bugs.

Squirrels squirrelling away nuts

For a winter retreat.

Leaves working overtime

Producing beautiful colors.

Plants busy

At the process of dying.

Sit still.

Take a deep breath

Hold it in,

Along with all the joy and hope

Of Autumn.

Then exhale slowly enough

To make it last

All through the winter.

Renaissance Festival

Kings and knights

Princesses and fairies

A magical world

near Shakopee.

Arts and crafts

Juggling and jokes,

Raucous and ribald

Silliness meets Shakespeare!

Maggie

Magnificently

Awesome

Graciously

Giving

Incredibly

Elegant

Happy Birthday!

A Change in the Weather

A September chill

Turns August into autumn.

Crisp air

Carries the sweet smell

Of early apples.

Donning jeans

And snuggling into sweaters,

Comfort food

Instead of bar-b-cue,

Football enthusiasm

Tackling baseball fever,

Brilliant leaves

Showering on faded flowers.

Summer blanketed

With a nice cool day.

Claudia

Recycled atoms-

We get to borrow them for a while.

Slip into your skin

And walk around.

Wear it out a bit

Until it feels like you.

Then just when it starts to fit

It's time to shed your wrap

And slide back into the

Cosmic consciousness.

Leaving your energy

To mark your path

To feed the earth.

September

See you in September,

A refrain to remind us

Of the constancy of the season.

After summer freedom

Comes the responsibility

Of September.

Back to school

Back from vacations

Back to the routine

Of 30 days has September...