But I'm so Over It

The snow may look nice
From inside
But I need to see grass soon.

Watching the Golf Channel
And drooling over
Verdant greens.

Reading Sarah's Key
And wondering how
The weather is in occupied Paris.

Skating at the Roller Rink
And telling stories about
Summer's ago
Skating down our front hill.

Eating oranges
And trying to absorb
All the Vitamin C
On a sunless day.

And glad that February
Has only 28 days!

You Have to Admit It Is Pretty

Soft fluffy flakes

Like a quilt's feathers

Gently floating down

From silver skies.

Beautiful snowscapes

Made smooth and clean

Like shells on the shore.

Trees tipped with silver

Shrubs sprouting out

Of white fields.

Abundant footprints

Leading to wild life's

Winter mansions.

It is a Winter Wonderland.

Winter Carnival Parade

To make the most of winter

Add 1 part fun

And 2 parts imagination.

Mix in lots of

Multi layered people

Plenty of floats and music

A good dose of humor

And a frigid high five.

Let simmer

With lots of smiles

And dig in!

Amy's Art Show

To see the heart

Of children

In their art-

The creative spirit

Coupled with

Innocent daring.

Seeing the reality

In fantasy.

Building art on dreams.

Sculptures figures

Molded with fingers

Sensing imagination

All around.

Long Winter Night

When I wake up
And the clock reads 1:23
I think how serendipitous
As I get up to pee.

When I look at the clock
And it says 2:34
I sigh and wonder
How many hours more.

When the clock
Notes 3:45
I guess I'm happy
To be alive.

But when I see
It's 4:56
I know I'm in a real fix.

And if I ever notice 5:67
I'll know I've died
And gone to heaven
And can finally sleep in.

Happy Birthday Amy

Wide open smile
Twinkling Irish eyes
Flashing fingers
Lyrical laugh.
Brain buzzing with ideas.
Heart bursting
With Compassion.
Soul reaching out
To embrace the whole world
Then passionately translating
Life onto canvas
So the rest of us
Can share the story.

Last Chess Club

Smiles and handshakes
Soda and certificates
A last chance
To challenge and share.
Special friendships
Forged in deep thought.
Respect and fun
Playing and learning together.
Chessmates!

Bible Stories

The lyrical beautiful symbolism

Used to tell universal truths,

Like fairy tales that mask

The deeper Psyche

And put a pretty face

On ancient themes.

Revealing the stories that bind us.

Reaching out

And trying to explain

Unfathomable mysteries.

A way to communicate

And include

A happily ever after.

The Reason for the Seasons

Looking at summer

From the bleak landscape of winter

Is a miracle of the mind.

To look past bare branches

To remember green boughs

Takes imagination.

To sit sweating

In the August sun

And feel the cool kiss

Of January's delicate snowflakes

Depends on creative thinking.

Seeing the change of seasons

And the stark contrasts

Develops our inner artist.

The creative process

Of turning winter into summer

Brings out the poet in all of us.

Cabin Fever

I need to walk

Barefoot in the grass.

To feel the warm earth

Beneath my feet.

I need to see

The promise of possibilities

In awakening plants.

I need to hear

More than the Vacuum

Of winter.

I need signs of spring!

Dog Days of January

Black paws
Against white snow,
Skittering feet
Kicking up snow dust.
Tail wagging
In the cold crisp breeze.
Pink tongue darting out
To catch a
Falling flake.
Nose sniffing the air
Waiting to smell
A glimpse of spring
In frozen aromas.

Another Kind of January Thaw

The laughter flows
Like the wine.
Huddled together
In a cosy booth
Keeping the cold
January night at bay
And basking
In the warmth
Of old friends.

Things

I don't need more things.
I need more time
To clean the space
Around the things
We've collected.
I need more experience
Not just the trivia from trips.
I need the place
Not the photograph.
I need...
The kiss, not the Valentine
The god, not the statue
The time, not the clock.
I need the life, not just the story.

I Have A Dream

We all have dreams,
That's what we share.
Dreams slipping across borders
To join a cosmic consciousness
A universal truth.
Dreams touch the deepest part of us
Lifting our hearts
Joining our souls
In the possibilities of dreams.

Stuck

You can't learn from your mistakes

If you never admit them.

Making the world fit your reality

May make it easier to excuse

Your failures

But then you never really see the truth.

You never really move forward.

You'll always be stuck

Mired in mistakes.

Weekend

Saturday and Sunday-

An island

Floating in the sea

Of weekdays.

A safe harbor

Amid the storms

Of Monday-Friday.

A weekend retreat

To refuel and refresh.

A break from

The day to day.

Time out of sync

A second squirreled away

A calendar date hidden

And saved for

Our own personal time.

A three day weekend!

January

I need more inspiration

Than the cold blank landscape.

Winter puts my soul to sleep.

I need the warm sun's kiss

To reawaken passions.

I need to feel the heat

Rising through my body

To stir my heart.

Boiling blood like lava

Creating new ideas.

A place to ripen and reform

To birth new poetry and dreams.

Tranquility

Footprints to follow

A hand to hold

A head to lead

A heart to show

The way to live

With a peaceful soul

The way to age

Without growing old.

Pundits

How Minnesota nice
To sit back and complain.
How passive aggressive
To armchair quarterback.
How easy to rant and rave
About simple solutions
To complex problems.
How convenient
To have all the answers
After the mistakes
Have been made.

Fortune Cookie

"There is no one so rich

That they don't need help

Or so poor

That they cannot help."

Were fortune cookies

The original "Tweets?"

Tuesday Afternoon

Black spots
Dotting the skyscape.
Fluttering crows
Riding the clouds
Across the sunset.
Darting in and out
Pecking the pink
Cotton candy cumulus
Settling on the
Hedge of trees
Fencing the sky.

Locked And Loaded

The political rhetoric
Of "Mama Grizzly"
Is a cute simile,
Until you realize
The damage done
By the reckless passion
And disregard for
Anything in its way.
Rather than clawing through
The woods
Wouldn't learning
To teach and understand
The hazards
And responding in a
More human nature
Make more sense.
We do have the ability
To communicate
After all.

Frigidaire

I feel like

An ice cream sandwich

Cold and creamy

Between two wool blankets.

Melting over the edges

As the sun peeks in

To warm my toes.

January Thaw

I'll love you

Until the icicles

Touch the ground.

I'll love you

Until the snow

Piles higher than my window.

I'll love you

Until the trees

No longer hold upright.

I'll love you

Until the winter white

Meets the sky blue.

I'll love you

As long as winter lasts

In Minnesota

Or hell freezes over.

Frigid Friday

Live in the moment

Eat from the plate

In front of you.

Don't worry about

What happened this morning

Or what's coming next.

Be fully present,

And time seems

To stand still-

Especially when

You have recess duty.

Fourth Grade Girls

Rolling eyes
Toss of hair
Snide giggle
Rather than
Sugar and spice
The girls seem to be
growing into teenagers.
I never understood
The peer pressure
Of cliques.
I guess I was lucky
Not to be too cool.

Insomnia

4:00 A.M.
Sleep worn off
Thousands of thoughts
Taking the place of dreams.
Dreams of
The day's lesson plans
Matching the kids plans.
Dreams of calendar dates
Toppling over from being too full.
Dreams of a to do list
Overdue.
Dreams of
What I forgot to put
On my to do list.
Dreams of
Coming home from school
And going to sleep...
Perchance to dream.

Books

Book Club
Has been a great way
To meet new friends.
I fell in love with
Willa Cather,
Who I never met in high school.
And the "Lonely Passion of
Judith Hearn" haunts me.
"Beloved" Toni Morrison
Taught me a whole new language.
And Bill Bryson always
Makes me laugh.
Books have given me insight
Into other cultures and
Other lives.
They have added to my
Own personal experience.
And isn't that
What friends are for?

Back to School

Back to the spark
Of joy and enthusiasm
When they fathom
The mysteries of the solar system
Or the wonder of
Getting a spelling test right.
Back to the friendship
And camaraderie
Of sharing stories
And peanut butter sandwiches.
Back to the delight
And curiosity
Of new challenges
To be excited about division
And proud of multiplication facts.
Back to school
And on to learning new things.

The Real Things

The things we take for granted

Like life, love, laughter

Those are the things

Buried deep in our hearts.

We need to wake up every day

And laugh

To acknowledge the joy

In our hearts.

Celebrate the ability

To see the wonder of life.

Love with all our hearts

To refill our veins

With the life's blood

Of human communion,

To feel the heartbeat

Of the world.

To keep life sacred

By keeping it in the mundane.

To be mindful of it

And be grateful every day.

1-1-11

A straight line number

As opposed to

The topsy turvey 0

Of 2010-

Signifying the straight and narrow,

Austerity and tightening our belts?

Or upright and honest,

Strong and sturdy?

What lies ahead-

Peek around the corner

Open the door

Let the new year in!