Academy Awards

The night the stars come out,
All dressed in their finery
Sparkling like celestial beings.
Diamonds like spotlights
Catching the flashbulbs.
Smiles dazzling off
Expensive teeth.
Bodies stuffed into satin and lace.
Hair they worked on for hours
To look like they just rolled
Out of bed.
What a wonderful world
When they put on a show.

Things We Take for Granted

Waking up

Being able to breathe

Walking to the kitchen

Eating breakfast

Reading the paper

Going back to bed

And dreaming of all

The things we take for granted.

Spring Training

Reading headlines

In anticipation

Newspaper notices

With excitement.

Looking forward

To warm summer evenings

City skyline

Overlooking the diamond

Stars above

And on the field.

Waiting for that first pitch

Let's play ball!

Take a Deep Breath

I need to sit

And do nothing.

Not homework

Or housework

Or the hundred other things

Passing through

My tired Friday mind.

I need to just sit

And do nothing

But try to breathe.

On Finishing the "Red Pyramid"

To read to a child
To start them on that adventure...
I remember all of us lying on the bed
While mom read "The Happy Hollisters".
My first Library book
Was "Thidwick the Bighearted Moose"
The first chapter book
I read by myself
Was "Sick-a-Bed Sally".
In fourth grade I discovered adventure
"Castle of Adventure"
"Valley of Adventure"
It was later as an adult
I found them in the classics.
Who knew
I only knew
I loved Anne of Avonlea, Jo March,
Sherlock Holmes and anything by
Robert Louis Stevenson.
A shared experience
A shared book
Connecting us across the ages.

Rest Time

Only when I'm sick
Can I lay quietly
On the couch
Watching mindless TV.
It takes a fever addled brain
Thinking insane thoughts
To keep up with the Kardashians.

Flu Season

Tried to call in sick
Take your pick;
No subs
No options
Spread the germs.

Change of Scenery

I was looking forward

To getting away

For inspiration.

I need more than

This cold grey landscape

To color my writing.

I'm starting to lose sight of verbs

With such an inactive setting.

Nouns are beginning

To seem cold and dull.

There are no more adjectives.

Even prepositions

Don't want to be here.

And participles are just

Dangling around.

I need a new setting

With more characters

And a plot

That doesn't involve snow.

Eyes Closed

I'm not looking out the window

At the terrible snowstorm

That spoiled my weekend getaway.

In my mind's eye

It's warm and sunny

And we're overlooking Lake Pepin

where the sun's dawning

On a beautiful new day.

Ice floes dot the shores

As it breaks up

Sun's rays glistening off

Pristine waters

Where gulls and eagles

Dip and Dive.

Wrapped in my warm cocoons

I can enjoy a February day off

Until I open my eyes.

Quest

Searching for perfection

I seek the ideal way.

Asking questions

To further inquiries.

Trying options

To refine procedure.

Making decisions

Based on advice.

Then allowing the answer

To float to the top

Like a treasure unearthed.

Picture Perfect

Looking deep into the picture

Past the garden scene

Far off on the mountain top

My soul is there,

Drinking in the fresh air.

Wreath of clouds

Crown my dreaming head.

Deep Parish blue sky,

Like an ocean

Surrounds me.

Flickering stars

Ready to enter the scene

Of my weekend retreat.

Spring Aborted

After looking forward all week
To the predicted 50 Degree day
We were disappointed
With the cold damp fog of a day.
A steady mist kept us in for recess.
A dark morning barely kept us awake.
At the end of the day
The sun had finally gained
Enough strength to push
Against the hem of clouds.
As one child said
The sun looked like an egg
Trying to hatch out.

Grammy Night

Circling cycles
Trilling notes
Up and down
Through consciousness
And undercover.
Melodies reminding,
Tune tapping into
The rhythm,
The pounding of the blood
Through the veins
Of all kinds of music
Keeping us in tune.

Haircut

Our image
Cut into a style.
Too short
Tears till it grows out.
Too long
It's out of control.
Just cut
Just right.

All You Need Is LOVE

Love love love love love

Love love love love love

Love love love love love

Love love love love love

Love love love love love

Love love love love love

Love love love love love

Valentine

I love the way

You wake up

The giggles

In the little girl in me.

I love the way

You help me see life

From a different perspective

Both Gemini sides.

I love the way

We can just sit quietly

And be in

Each other's thoughts

I love the way

We can talk

And feel like

We're really being heard.

I love the way

You do little things

That show you

You care.

I love the way

You wake up my soul

Renew and refresh me

And touch my heart.

I love the way

I feel when

I'm with you.

I love You.

Trumpeter Swans

We followed the flying V

To Swan Pond.

Trumpeting their arrival

They joined hundreds

Of other birds

Flexing their wings

In a mating dance

On warm open water.

Wing tips slicing the air

Long sinewy necks

Snaking in and out.

Amazing mass

Of undulating feathers

Blanketing the pond

Like snowflakes.

The Big Picture

A project seems important

While you're

In the midst of it.

Obsessed with the details

Consumed with completion

Your priorities become skewed.

Eating and sleeping

Seem to get in the way

And everything else

Is a distraction.

Until the job is done

And you wonder

Why it seemed so important.

For Alice

It doesn't matter how old you are
It's always hard to lose your mother.
That umbilical cord bond
Across the years.
Life's blood flowing through all you do.
You'll catch a glimpse in the mirror
And wonder when you became your mother.
A gesture
A saying
An opinion
A tradition
Your mother is always with you
In your heart and in your head.

Me and the Machine

Computers are
Beautiful tools of logic
Except when they're not.
They help us create
And communicate
Except when they don't.
They broaden our experience
And make it fun
Except when it isn't.
I love computers
When they work.

Tuesday Afternoon

Curled up on the couch
After dinner and a glass of wine
The day seems so much mellower
Than I remember it.
The note from the parent
Really wasn't that irate.
The Principal's memo
Was nothing out of the ordinary.
The missed prep time
Gave us lots of time to teach.
And the after school meeting
Only lasted till 5:30.
Not a bad day
After a glass of wine.

Little Fish

A goldfish
In the Conservatory pond
Is sure he is in Paradise.
What else
Could this big beautiful world be?
He doesn't see us
Sitting on
A bench nearby
Getting out of the cold.
He thinks his pond
Is the whole wide world.
And he's content.

Super Bowl

The excitement

Of possibilities.

Hold your breath

Let it fly.

Quarterback's

Gotta try.

Hail Mary

Let it go.

Rushing forward

Put on a show.

Last ditch effort

Yes or no

Will we win

Or cry in our beer?

Touchdown's in

Time to cheer!

At the Zoo

Though a part of me
Feels like I'm invading
Their privacy
I love going to the zoo.
When I look
In their eyes,
I feel the glass melt away.
I feel a connectedness.
I get to become
A beautiful wild animal.
I project all my
Thoughts and feelings
But they just brush them away
As they seem more intent
On chasing their children
Or stalking a ball.
Maybe we aren't so different.

A Hint Of Spring

Bird songs

On a breeze

Whisper winds

Picking up their cheer

Spring is in the air.

A Gem of A Day

Focus on the small
Nugget of good
That happened today.
Forget about the fool's gold
And the struggles
And hold the treasure close.
Squeeze it tight
Till it warms your heart
And spreads to your soul.
Feel the warmth infuse the day
With meaning
And block out the rest.
Ignore the tiredness
The wavering attention
The aches and irritations.
Let the jewel of the day
Shine and sparkle
With its light
Pointing to the wonder
Of tomorrow.

Happy Groundhog's Day, Mary K

Smiles and graciousness
Including everyone
Into your heart
With a nod and encouragement
Full of understanding
And the need to love
And be loved.
Have a new year
Full of love.

Book Club

A chance to share
Not only books
But ideas
And our own stories.
How a novel touches us
And mirrors our own lives
And leads to
More chapters
And more food-
For thought.