tapping the old wood of desire --
under darkness river folds to ice

setting sun melts
into woodsmoke --
regrets rising with the moon

I call for you --
the return of echoes

silver light --

the gentleness of November

a lumbering sweep of wing
heron rises --
I turn one more page before sleep

slightly frayed
silken petals
at the point of stillness . . .

woodsmoke
twilight thoughts --
roots dreaming of what might be

I swim in the
shadow of a cloud
the shoreline recedes --

eternity and other passing moments

shell pink leans
on dried gold of leaf --

September roses

flickering beneath twilight shadows
laughter of a goldfinch --
weightless

wisps of cloud
across a high blue sky
at the bottom of the closet
wedding veil in a box

"Roiling"

visitors crowd the house
birthday candles blown --
storm clouds muscle out the sun

elemental
surface
light and shadow
quiet . . .

a whisper of north wind
lifts the curtain --
your finger tracing my spine

slow steady stitches
on fine linen --
starlight embroiders the night sky

altered photograph by poet

holding up the night sky
raspy love song

lone cicada

your cotton shirt
pressed against my face --

above us pine needles tap stars

through open windows
honeysuckle and sea spray --

lovers' first embrace

blush of petals
darkening shadows --

the arc of night

washed linens
ruffled by a breeze --

snowdrifts a distant memory

tilting the balance of light
earth swivels --

summer awaits

river of clouds above

light as passing memories ~

slender white light --

magnolia greets the morning

rains pummel the earth
incessant birdsong --

winter's silence breaking apart

spring light on pine needles --

your laughter lingering in the air

this spring morning
battalion of lawnmowers --

just a little off the top, please

vapor trails
scribe the evening sky --

hating long goodbyes

thin ice slab
drifts with the swans --

defying the odds

shadows stretch across the lawn
like laundry airing in the morning sun

why this sense of dread . . .

amber threads --

tracing the path home by river light

slender blades
the surface breaks --

eruptions of spring

kick the can
once a child's game --

now bits of frozen detritus

howling --

me or the wind?

winter drips -
puddles in my brain

Ode to Summer

gently last rays stroke
late in the day --

white blossoms like fireflies

ruffling the still whiteness

birdsong --

spring cannot be far?

thick skin of ice
full wolf moon --

I feel a howl rising

a thin gray light --

the weight of winter

winter's frozen landscape
bleak and gray --

I draw you to me in the darkness

* * *

reminiscence -

antidote for despair

new snow --
a lovely silk layer over black ice