#AwakeAugust, Friday, August 26, 2016

city living - window to window

overhearing a neighbor’s loss

this hot summer day

#AwakeAugust, Wednesday, August 24, 2016

only after hearing the cicada shrill
do I realize the silence
that came before

#AwakeAugust, Friday, August 19. 2016

late night barefoot stroll
I can still feel the prickle
where the cicada crawled over my foot

#AwakeAugust, Thursday, August 18, 2016

searching from window to window
to see the August moon
catching only glimpses through the trees

#AwakeAugust, Saturday, August 13, 2016

after the day-long heat wave
the chatter of the cicada

#AwakeAugust, Friday, August 12, 2016

sometimes
the little things
take your breath away

#AwakeAugust, Thursday August 11, 2016

pulling weeds in the scorching sun
for just a moment
I smell the shore

#AwakeAugust, Wednesday, August 10, 2016

carefully, I move the spider
to the open window
from the comfort of my home

#AwakeAugust, Tuesday, August 9, 2016

drifting off to sleep
I feel the footsteps on my blanket
of a cat long gone

#AwakeAugust, Monday August 8, 2016

the park is full of people
heads bowed, searching...
for Pokemon

#AwakeAugust, Sunday, August 7, 2016

among the broken glass
of a tossed out bottle
a cicada shell

#AwakeAugust, Saturday, August 6, 2016

ferrying the bee on my windshield
from town
to town
to town

#AwakeAugust, Friday, August 5, 2016

each day
watching the red creep up
the ripening tomato

#AwakeAugust, Thursday August 4, 2016

trimming the blue leaves
from the "tinted" daisies
as if cutting wasn't enough

#AwakeAugust, Wednesday, August 3, 2016

discovering the hole in the garden --

the skunk's faint odor remains

#AwakeAugust, Tuesday, August 2, 2016

hearing the cardinal
before I see her

#AwakeAugust, Monday, August 1, 2016

I pick the last of the blueberries
the robin missed

And on the 150th day the plumber said, "Let there be water," and there was water. And the plumber saw the water was good. And the plumber said "Let the water run from the bathroom sink." And it was so. And the plumber separated the check from our checkbook. And on the 150th day, the bathroom was finished. 
Hallelujah!

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 30, 2014

winter chill --
listening to a Tui's summer song
over Skype

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 29, 2014

unsure of my Neostylis orchid's fragrance

until I saw my cat sniff a blossom

and shake his head in disgust

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 24, 2014

on the house rooftop
real icicles hang
from the Christmas icicle lights

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 23, 2014

I cross over the frozen river
the stillness of the water captured
in this winter moment

in the distance 
frozen in air
the white billowing smoke 
of the nuclear towers

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 22, 2014

early morning--
even the moon
is only half there

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 21, 1014

hotel parking lot
cars' windshield wipers
point up to the sky
rubber tree limbs in the snow storm

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 20, 2014

there are times I wish
that I was as observant
as my cat

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 19, 2014

winter's sun

on the wall

my shadow's hand
pets the cat's shadow

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 18, 2014

treating my scarred hand
remembering when my grandmother
would burn herself while cooking
her burns took so long to heal 
and left deep dry purple scars
I notice the same on mine

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 17, 2014

scraping the last bits
of Kamahi honey from the jar
and my memories of New Zealand

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 16, 2014

waking to another winter day...
with thick fog out my window
I'm inclined to perhaps write a novel
"50 Days of Grey"

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 15, 2014

The new telephone pole
is light and smooth.
The old telephone pole,
dark and full of holes,
leans a little to the left.
In the darkness of the storm
the wet poles are all the same.

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 14, 2014

two flocks of geese
fly towards each other
sliding through their V-formations
like a well-choreographed marching band

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 12, 2014

a break in the winter freeze--
the birdbath teems
with bathing sparrows

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 11, 2014

Driving home from the vet's office
the cat stops meowing 
when I sing along with the Plain White T's...

..."And all your tears will subside" 
Plain White T's – Rhythm of Love

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 10, 2014

walking in the snow back to my car
I look for the boot prints I made before
among dozens of others

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 9, 2014

on the airplane, can't help overhear
the salesman's phone conversation
"I'm ready to step up to the plate
and knock one out of the park."
... I sigh.

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 8, 2014

arctic chill --
the frozen snow on the ground
looks like a stage prop

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 7, 2014

fluid twists and plunges --
the flock of black birds ride icy wind currents,  
patterns mutating the sky
                 

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 6, 2014

disoriented --
waking from a dream about one
who has passed

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 5, 2014

in the quiet of the night
only the sound of a clock 
tick
    tock
tick
    tock

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 4, 2014

one 
single 
drop
grows slowly
from the frozen faucet

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 3, 2014

after the winter storm --
the scrape of shovels on the sidewalk
the whir of stuck tires in the snow bank
the bang of a sparrow into the glass door
the silent stealth of the cat

mindful writing, small stones-Jan 2, 2014

for the first time --

I notice the places

my father had been

WWII

mindful writing, small stones-Jan.1, 2014

treating the cat's eye
so he too
can see clearer into the new year

mindful writing, small stone-Jan. 30, 2013

his returning home
in spirit
does a little for mine

mindful writing, small stone-Jan. 28, 2013

The house sparrow clings tightly
as the winter gale lashes at the thin branch.
Her feathers ruffle in a hundred directions
as she waits -
patient
until
for just one brief moment
the wind subsides
and she preens herself.