Before

And after

 Our own former student, Bobby, in the CDH play

Free to Be You and Me!

Dog Days!

An uneventful day
Is an event to celebrate.
A day devoted to nothing more ambitious
Than finishing the Sunday paper
Calls for confetti.
Waking up and rolling over
To lounge away the morning
Deserves a parade.
A lazy Sunday
At the end of the month
Should be a National Holiday!

Golden leaves
Like coins on branches
Paying for the luxury of life.
Shaken loose
The Currency of autumn
Left as interest.

TGIF

Sadako's Dreams
"Peace Crane,
I will write peace
On your wings
And you will fly
All over the world."

Pepin  Dreams

The magic of the moment
The clouds touch the lake
Flicking raindrops
Off the water
Like sweat off the brow.
The moment
When the sun touches
The trees and sparks a fire
In autumn colors
Fading to the shore.
The moment
Of sheer silence
When the ripple of the water
Is the volume of the day.
The moment of magic
When you realize
You're in the moment
And it's magic.

A warm grey day,
Tropical autumn,
The reds and yellows
Washed out by the misty film
Of silken rain.
Like a cozy cocoon
Keeping us safe
And growing memories
for the long months ahead.

The Monday after-
No sleeping in
No lingering over breakfast
No back to bed
No cat naps
Monday's at a much faster pace
After a long weekend.

2 beauties

And the beast?

Check out Gary's horns...

Congratulations Amy

On your Almanac reading!

Ghost trees
Unfleshed by October
Leaves ripped from their quivering limbs
Winds howling in protest
A skeleton parade
Along the highway.

MEA days
My Enjoyable Alternatives

Let's go to Lake City...

Beauty and the Beast
With my beautiful niece, Jenny

Our baby panda took his first steps.

They grow up so fast!

Short leash
Short temper
Short on patience
Short on money
Short week...

A look around the room reveals us
As we imagine ourselves
Not as we are.
Young and blond not fading grey.
Tall and strong
Not stooped and wavering.
Smart and witty
Not trying to remember
Days we can't forget
Memories that made us.

A rainy reminiscing sort of day
Good for a forty year reunion

Black and white in a mysterious pattern

A reflection of our own humanity

In the bond of mother and son
San Diego Zoo.org

Thursday's sun dipping behind the trees
Shading the slanting light
Through my classroom window
It's amazing how peaceful it is here
After school.

Hump Day
Like a camel
driving to the oasis
The weekend
Can't come fast enough.

Shapes of trees
Like a deck of cards
Suits in shades of red
Fanned out like a winning hand
A royal flush against the sky.

Monday morning
Back on track
Routine breaks the weekend experience
And makes you appreciate
The sublime.

Sun makes all the difference.

With a blue background
The trees don't look so dead.
Air warmed by sunlight
Is inhaled as perfume
Rather than shivers.
Leaves catching the breeze
Seem to dance
Instead of swan dive.
Sunday sky full of sunshine
Sings Amen
Before we hibernate.

How is it
We forget fall every year
But it remembers us?
It remembers
Its palate of colors
Getting each vivid hue right.
It knows when to turn
The thermostat down for the night
And cool for the day.
It remembers to move the sunset
Just a little to the left
And shine the harvest moon.
It remembers to remind us
Its predicable
Even if we forget.

Returning
Like a tongue bothering
An empty socket,
Searching
For the possibility
Of a migraine.

Shelving books at the library
Gives one a false sense of stability.
Creating order out of chaos
Is only a momentary lapse
In the rush of the day.

Because of Winn Dixie
Just like a Littmus Lozenge
A story sweet
but sad.
Just like our kids lives
Hopeful
In spite of everything.

The sun makes everything better-
Dull grey becomes
Bluer sky
Drab brown becomes
More vivid leaves
My mood becomes
Warm as the sunshine!

I'm not sure
What's going to come out of my mouth.
All the anxious images welling up
Spilling over into language.
Bite your tongue
Is a good refrain
To keep the acid reflux of angry words
From spilling out
And poisoning the paper.