A Fox is in the Sky

Blood-red Hunter's Moon,

A fox is in the sky.

Better for you to set too soon

Than catch that hunter's eye.

A dragon, too,

Is after you,

So fly, fly, fly.

Wolf Ineffable

Green Acorn Moon

The Summer Triangle is visible in the break in the clouds,

the heavenly lyre is subconsciously heard,

the flying and falling vulture are ubiquitous in the Oklahoma sky, 

reflections in the black pools of a water moccasin's eyes.

The acorns are green, the chiggers are swarming, 

the persimmon fruits unfallen are glowing,

the cedars grow, the crickets chirp, the tree frogs croak,

and the thrum, the hum, the vibration is palpable.

The Quiet of the Morning

The first few steps pounded out on the pavement
Are miserably hard on the soles of my feet
And I ache all the way to the top of my head
And I feel like a jackhammer not a jogger
With legs as heavy as heavy machinery
And breathing loud as a logging truck
Belching out carbon monoxide.

I intrude upon the quiet of the morning.

Then the road is softened by one fluffy cottontail,
Her nose twitching with curiosity
Until she exits into the wayside brambles
Where dewberries abound and one is found
Sweet and tart on my tongue.

And a squirrel follows along in the canopy
Forming an overpass over my path
And becomes a distraction from the ache
Working its way out of my body.

And clearing the nettles in the meadow’s fast lane
A deer pronks and shows his own mettle
And I show mine as my legs are lightened.

And my breathing at first obtrusive
Intertwines with the breathing trees
And my soul sings with songbirds
And my sweat distills as dew on wild roses.

I am the quiet of the morning.

Personality Test

Which would you rather drink?

Cool, clear water

Or primordial soup?

Which would you rather think?

Cool, clear water

Or primordial soup?

Into which would you rather sink?

Cool, clear water

Or primordial soup?

Of what would you rather stink?

Cool, clear water

Or primordial soup?

Depending on how you answer you may be:

A - An ecoterrorist who doesn’t use bleach or soap products.

B – Born to be a deep thinker.

C – Catfish noodling next Saturday

D – Damn if I know and neither does your shrink. 

Crypto Cat

Suspicion frowns upon the black panther

Whose myth resurfaces four times a year

Like a season of fear when the woods won't breathe

And its creatures won't stir to brave stalking death.

When somewhere in the backwoods

Two hunters meet, eye to eye, breath to breath,

The two-legged speaks, "Your black coat is mine."

The four-legged smiles a Cheshire smile, "You won't want to go there."

And each released from sudden blindness, brothers part,
Contenders for a greater truth
As elsewhere the debate goes on:
Puma jaguarundi or melanistic cougar crypto cat.

And renewed the mistrust and spewed the disrespect

Between the experts of the ivory towers

And woodsmen of the virgin bowers

Contending the range of the elusive beast.

Posted at Poets United Poetry Pantry #153.

The Weather Channel

God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh

my God oh my God oh my God oh my God

oh my God oh my God oh my God

oh my God oh my God oh my

God oh my God oh my God

oh my God oh my God oh

my God oh my God

oh my God

oh my God

oh my

God

oh

my

Futilitarian Joy

Road submerged in drought too long, rain too late,

The work that must be done will have to wait.

Futilitarian joy it is to me

That I must love this flooded day.

This is Sunset

When the solar arms embrace your aura

And fill your well of hope that all is well

With a world on the edge of darkness,

This is sunset.
When the sun is set
And the moon yet lingers in that embrace,
Soothing balm of light
Heals earthly eyes from glaring truth.

Feed the Awe

The hunger of a wolf cub is fed

Through the pads of her paws

And satiated mile on mile

Ley line on line of butterflies

And other curiosities.

The wonder of a child is awed

By a clear night of stars

And the howling in the wilderness

Stirring up restless fears

At a safe distance.

Transformer

Bird of paradise -

High-voltage territory

If you're an insect.

Woods Not So Heavy

Down a road where spiderwort

Weaves a web around the woods

That swallow up the way

An abandoned turtle shell

Points in circles

And the weight of the world

Falls on the intruder who is lost

Until deep-rooted wonder

Displaces fear

And warnings given branch to branch

Transform to comforting chatter,

The woods not so heavy anymore.

Natural Selection

Where pondside edges dissipate

Into molecules of calm and space

And restful alertness supercedes 

The weariness of modern dramas

Natural selection

Ebbs and flows in every breath

And this is living.

Where edges are defined

Building towers to the skies

Sidewalks crack the bottom line

And from this ecological niche

A dandelion thrives

Reminding passersby

That nature's not a fragile mother.

Posted at Poets United Poetry Pantry #145.

Map Turtle

Map turtle
Show me the way
To stretch out my neck
For a good cause
Bearing the weight
Of my own small world
Yet knowing there is time
To set aside
That never-ending task
For time to bask.

Epitaph to a Tree

Lay down arms

And sleep the good fight

Long live the tree.

Stay the Night

56 degrees is a thaw of heart
To tree frogs getting an early start
Sighing over shiny water
Waiting for a moonlit lover.

Fog hovers near the river
Slowly dancing with her giver
Long hair curling with the music
Flowing through the undercurrent.

The sun unwilling to lose this sight
Holds on to both the edges of tonight
Onto the east the moon shines over
Onto the west the pink spreads under.

Into this glory I am cast
Would this mud could hold me fast
But on I trudge about my business
Far removed from the art of living.

Merry Mint and Savory

Between January gloom
And March bloom
Is February
A time to jump the gun
Get a head start on spring
And outrun all that is sedentary
For no false start here
In any freezing year
Can diminish my merry
Mint and savory
Ice palace of thawing hope.

Welcome to the Neighborhood

Work inside
On concrete floor
Rings loud hour after hour.
Rushing here and there
To keep ahead of Nora V.
Hands grow cold
And jaw clenches.
Mind overwhelmed by
Human suffering
Clings to compassion
But feels like sinking.

Work outside
On lonely ground is
So quiet the first half hour.
Gathering firewood
The internal fire lights up
Coat comes off.
Here to stay awhile
Mind empties to
Silence so profound
That at once the forest sings
Welcome to the neighborhood.

ABCs of Oklahoma

A is for Aldean
B is for Bryan
C is for Church, Coyotes, and Cusses
D is for Dodge, Dirt road, Donkeys
C  'cause you can't have Dodge without Chevy
E is for Eggs and bacon fried for breakfast
F is for Four-wheeler
G is for Gum, Guns, and toothless Gums
H is for Horse and bad Hay
I is for Iced tea
J is for Jesus riding a Jackass
K is for Kuntry store
L is for Little towns with Lightning bugs
M is for Mud and lack of Money
N is for Nature and Nothing of value
O is for Outhouses and Oddballs
P is for Puppies abandoned in a box
Q is for Quilt made by Choctaw
R is for Redbone coonhound
S is for Stone house and Snapping turtle
T is for Ticks spinning around in Tornadoes while I'm
Underground in shelter
V is for Venison and Vipers:
     copperheads, rattlers, and water moccasins
W is for Women in jail
X is for X-rays when I fell out of tree
Y is for Yacht, Yeah right
Z is for Tulsa Zoo
     where you can trade turtle shells for birds nests or vice versa.

  By Falls From Tree

Ketchup and Mustard

The tween and teen
Sling word shot
And packets of condiments
At each other
As follows:

That's gross.

     I like mustard.

You don't have to use a whole handful.

     I'm not.  I'm using half a fistful.

I don't see how anyone could eat mustard.

     I don't see how anyone can eat ketchup.

Still, I'd rather eat a drop of mustard than a handful of ketchup.

     I'd rather eat a handful of mustard.

Too tired to think
Too tired to sleep
Almost too tired to care
And carry adult burdens
And professional headaches
Any longer
This argument over ketchup and mustard
Is healing.