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.

Stages of Humor

Trying to catch a sunbeam
My little guy
Reaching for the shaft of light
Shining through a closed door
Chubby fingers grasping on emptiness
And giggling like only babies do.

My little genius
Philosopher to be
Giggling like only a teen can do
When left unattended for one minute
In a Hobby Lobby
Rearranging wooden letters
Painted in sparkling pastels
To spell the word "poop."

Proud I am he showed restraint
Having imagined some other word
But saying to himself,
"Well, that's too vulgar
For there are little kids here,
And they will think 'poop' is funny."

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.

Henbit and Chickweed

If henbit could cluck

And chickweed could chirp

Then green-combed roosters

In fine flowered finery

Would be to spring

What their avian counterparts are today:

Sound settings to wake people up

The good old fashioned way.

For few avian patriarchs

See enough light of day

To remember their job to greet it,

Subsisting as they do in free-range factories

To feed cloned appetites.

If henbit could cluck

And chickweed could chirp

Would they spread gloom and doom gossip

Of a weed killer come to judge the earth?

Fool

Damned if I am
Damned if I ain't
The fool for the day.

Not wanting to draw down
The attention of the gods
I didn't say my prayers.


But there's freedom in knowing I am
Damned if I do
Damned if I don't.