I wrote this poem nearly forty years ago, give or take a decade. But it's April, National Poetry Month, and I thought I'd drag out a few old favorites of mine. My late cat Hibiscus makes a cameo appearance in this poem. He was a long-haired gray tabby, with caramel colored strips on his face, … Continue reading The Fairy Path
Welcome to April! It’s National Poetry Month! I started writing poetry nearly fifty years ago, when I was in college. I started getting published when I was in my 20s, learning to make my way in the world outside my parents’ house. My poetry and I were young together. Poetry for me was short, intense … Continue reading How to Find the Muse
For Saint Patrick’s Day, I thought I would share a reprint of a favorite post, relating a bit of Irish history (sometimes called mythology). This poem tells the story of Patrick’s encounter with a poet named Oisin. Oisin (pronounced O-sheen) was the son of Finn MacUail (pronounced M’Cool) who was a great warrior. Oisin was … Continue reading Oisin and Patrick
(with thanks to Paul Simon on Brigid’s midwinter feast day) The prompt was to write a poem inspired by a song, and so I did. Midway between the winter solstice and the shush of an espresso machine I stand hypnotized by the sound of water dripping, my feet shifting on sticky linoleum. The tule fog … Continue reading The Roots of Rhythm
A winter's poem I wrote a few decades ago. In December the sky darkened but a star cracked the blackness to perch like a red bird on the waiting finger of an evergreen tree. Hiking through the field we knelt on damp leaves and knew: the Earth will heal herself. Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Blessed … Continue reading Shepherd’s Story
One more poem of mine to finish up National Poetry Month Tonight you sit on the front steps facing south beckoning me with your dry lips your moist fingers. I am already here but I am still and you do not recognize me. I press against your skin, a sweaty companion: I am hot and … Continue reading Delta Breeze
This is a poem I wrote a few years back for my mother and her sisters. It's a bit of a ramble, but they all seemed to like it. My aunt Eleanore had a muskrat fur coat. My aunt Ruth had a skirt that revealed her knees. She wore it with platform shoes. They went … Continue reading The Flint Girls Go To A Fire
Continuing to celebrate poetry in April. . . One hundred dark-haired ladies in red silk kimonos twirl in the foggy sky between wakefulness and sleep, Swinging from each finger: one thousand origami cranes, a rainbow on each hand. In the cool silk moment they float before the sun burns through the mist. Delicate as balloons, … Continue reading Prayer for Peace
April is National Poetry Month! So here's one of my earlier pieces to celebrate the power of the Word. Words jingle in my ears like pennies in the pocket of my navy wool pea coat. When I was ten, one word would buy a licorice whip red or black or a thick block of Bazooka … Continue reading Just One
This poem continues my theme of December oranges, but also serves as a holiday warning: don't let this season try your patience and drive you to exhaustion! Remember, the smartest thing to do on the longest night of the year is sleep. If I can pluck the moon from the sky I may find it’s … Continue reading Don’t Eat the Moon
