Burning scarlet rays
of the morning sun
pulse through layers of chiffon fog
revealing crystal rainbow prisms.
Dewdrops cling to leaf tips,
until they slowly evaporate.
Feathery tender ferns unfurl
under the warmth of ole sol,
magically awakening dozens of
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
cocoons suddenly hatching.
In a gentle swirl, an upward funnel
bursting with virgin butterflies
releases into the sky, reaching
the tallest tree tops
only to disappear,
guided by instinct
to seek the nectar of life.
Feeling the heat
Of a blazing orb
Warming my soul,
Shadows begin to emerge
Across the lawn before me.
A lone cardinal rests
in a warm sunbeam
motionless, beak facing East.
Dozens of cheery goldfinch
Alight and take off,
highlighting the air
surrounding me.
Fox tumble and play,
Napping on a moss covered
Abandoned stonewall,
doorstep to their
Hillside den where mother
Awaits the next feeding.
Phoebe’s announce their presence
As though megaphones,
Competing with echoes
From the riverside
Of two pairs of
Pileated woodpeckers.
A velvety muscular buck
and his brown eyed doe
lead their frisky but timid
spotty twins through
an established path
leading from the river up
to neighbor’s gardens, just
beginning to sprout.
Mourning doves coo
And innocently peck
At seeds dropped
Around the base
Of the birdfeeder pole.
Suddenly a sharp-shinned hawk strategically swoops in
to clutch away their innocence,
returning to her nest
with a lifeless body
in her lanceolate talons.
Fat frisky grey squirrels get
A running start to jump
Halfway up the now greased pole
Hoping for enough traction
To leap onto one of four
Seed-filled feeders.
Rusty striped chipmunks,
Cheeks filled fat with seeds,
Race back and forth
From feeder to sub-porch nest
Shared with dozens
Of garden snakes.
Shadows become shorter now,
The day warms and brightens
As the little pond across the drive
Comes alive with peepers,
Providing background music
For today’s sunrise event.
I am me,
you,
everyone,
no one.
I am whoever I believe I am
today, yesterday, tomorrow.
I am dust in the wind.
Everyone thinks they know
who I am, who I have become.
I am none of the things
most people see as me,
I am only a kaleidoscopic
reflection of what they want
me to be but still,
we all can see, I am here.
Late moon bursting forth
with lunar brilliance
highlights a nearly black
shiny-as-raven-feathers Midnight Sky.
Sophisticated and elegant,
the artist captures colors
with loaded brush strokes
to offer his translation in
Starry Night, a painting
we discover, waiting to be shared.
Inside local museums….
Throngs of visitors
linger before the work
collectively sighing, pointing, remarking
displaying the Master’s work
with the pinnacle of respect.
Solo humans stand silently,
fascinated in the dark of night,
filled with wonder, appreciation
gazing upon this beauty,
a reflection of life on earth.
A precious midnight gift for
those who seek nature’s beauty
where others rarely slow
their pace, professing the beauty
“too dark and lonely,”
preferring to sleep soundly
under snug, warm comforters.
Something odd,
something different and curious
finally made her brave enough
after 3 intense years, to lift the fragile veil
of Lilith’s friendship, smiling back
at her from that familiar face.
Listening to Lilith’s sweet songs,
sharing, believing, allowing them into her heart,
lulling her own tongue
into singing its most precious tunes,
sharing her deepest secrets.
Hearing the devastating news
she could not digest it,
could not fathom
why Lilith would betray her
with those untrue, unkind words.
Lilith was not that kind of person!
It simply could not be true.
True friends do not go behind
each other’s backs with knives.
It’s an unspoken LAW!
Breaths became labored,
her heart rate elevated,
unprepared for the abrupt revelation,
completely depleted of precious oxygen,
the wind knocked out of her sails.
A smidge of skepticism,
a moment of hesitation,
a wall of doubt might have prepared her
for the shock of it all.
Betrayal revealed the ugly, ravenous beast
who had waited patiently
behind her friendly mask,
now freely expelling her jagged,
putrefied breaths.
Lilith had waited, calculating,
ready to consume
the fresh, vulnerable, trusting friend.
Only after the feast began
did the victim feel excruciating pain,
the intensity of the damage.
The chunks bitten from her soul
soon festered, refused to heal.
What remained was the shell
of her former self, disoriented,
doubting everyone and everything,
shaken to her core.
Diminished, broken, a mere shell
of her former self, vision blurred,
everything precious seemingly now lost,
everyone she held dear evaporated.
Only enough strength for a simple
cynical thought left inside her aching skull.
She asked her miserable acquaintance,
…..“and will you have fries with that?”
