Published and unpublished
They extend the days
Our ancestors lacked them
Behind walls of wattle or mud
They slept long
Not prodded by the sun
and stepped out
to dawn’s silhouette of trees
They praised their walls rightly
unable to equal the power of winter
or the blaze of the summer sun
Confined briefly behind walls now
in clothes of our choosing
our modern floors keep the earth out
worms we pretend don’t exist
and the infinite creatures soaring above
invisible to us
Nature has a way of insisting
You can’t fool her, it’s true
You open up the sky for a quarter
But find the water is gone
You dig to hell for proof
But nothing is there
Where are can you go
Your new mode of movement does nothing
Though you walk on your nose to the stage
And a bundle of money is awarded
Though you primp in the mirror for hours
Next morning you’re nowhere again
So you read how to eat
And read how to breathe
Ignoring the rain and the children
Skating paved rivers and gardens of chrome
guffawing with guts made of plaster
Midway up
the sandy hill
a whale lies grounded
green in the haze of hot
November
It wants to swim
to the peak
but can’t
The houses tilt
with the tawny terrain
A pink stream
flows past
They start to quake
Then each flies off
The whale stays solid on the hill
The blue road reaching its tail
hold no ox or wagon
The pale sky receives it all
“A collection of poems in grateful homage to the animals in our lives with original photos of dogs, present and mythological, that express an enduring intimacy between human and animal and the world they share.”…K.B. Burgin, Editor Metro Midwives
Best Friend
She follows me around
and I give her the meat from my mouth
to keep her happy
She gives much relief
from freedom’s space
so you could say she earns it
And there’s more than enough for both of us
It’s not a question of starving
Still, at times, I do it grudgingly
confusing myself with the truly hungry
mired, as I am, in a pond of delight
with all refinements
yet calling myself generous
as I give her a tidbit…
gone to the dogs
“At first glance I was skeptical that a whole collection about dogs and cats would work, but you give us poems that succeed and go deep. Many readers to you!”….X.J. Kennedy, distinguished poet, translator, widely anthologized, recipient Frost Medal Life Time Service to Poetry