Poems & Other Lies
Skeeter and The Veteran
The online literary blog BarBar has published a couple of my stories. Click the link below to read them. Vernon Wade says “My chicken yard is a battlefield.” Read the story “Skeeter and the Veteran.” — barbar (bebarbar.com)
Yes, you are
Why do you argue with me, when I tell you how beautiful you are? Why do you roll your eyes and say, “No, I’m not.” as if I have no idea what I see with my own heart? You turn the stereo up so loud a deaf kid could dance to it, miming the lyrics with a provocative...
December 10th
Sitting in the dark, listening to the heavy, wet snow slough off the branches of the oaks. There is a steady drip from the trees. It was snowing a little bit ago, but for now it has stopped. I hear the crash of a shed collapsing not too far away. The rooster is...
The Tea Pot
It is a quiet morning, the light still dim. Everything seems calm and muted, even the birdsong heard through the open window. I turn on the light over the stove and set the kettle on for tea. We had a very elegant stainless steel art deco kettle, but the bottom warped...
Overindulgence
I ate berries all day. When I stood up from the toilet it looked like I'd house-trained a bear.
Morning Song
https://youtu.be/JG7__rFsYHY 4/20/2022 5:00 am
April Freeze
Thick frost crusts the ground Overhead, countless stars are blinking All around me the orchard fans thunder
Quiet Morning
It is a quiet morning so far, but soon it will wake. The birds will start to chatter, a rooster will crow and several more will answer. Somewhere up the canyon a dog will start a conversation which will last for hours and involve most of his neighbors. The frog chorus...
Windless Morning
5/16/22 530 40f A windless morning the sky laced with clouds and dotted with stars. The moon waxing gibbous casts a blue glow through the oaks. A frog is croaking "good morning"
Restless Morning
There is a break in the rain. The moon is full behind the clouds. The owls are raising a ruckus. Roosters are crowing, frogs are croaking. There seems to be a lot going on for 430 in the morning.
A Prevernal Frogument
Two frogs argue in the dark. They intended to sleep until spring but woke before their alarm clock. Eagerly, the first frog croaks: “Get up! Get up! Get up!” “Too soon, Too soon,” grumps the other, through the lightly falling...
Morning Dilemma
Submerged in the darkness I struggle to distinguish the sound of water tumbling down the creek from the rushing tires of an approaching car Timing my naked leap from the hot tub so as not to offend the neighbors.
Coyote Concert
Coyotes howling songs of freedom from the star-lit stage above Willow Flat Agitate farm dogs up and down the road And drive the inmates of the kennel To a frenzy
Sunday Morning In January
Predawn freezing fog blankets the canyon. My rooster is arguing religion with the neighbor's bird. Occasionally some cock down the road will offer his ill considered opinion, only to be sternly rebuffed by an owl who has been struggling to remain aloof from the fray.
Moonlit Snowfield
Receding snow covers the ground like a dirty blanket, crusty and stained, flecked with debris. But the moon bathes it clean, transforming it into a glowing blue sheet stretching across the open fields from treeline to treeline. In the distance a lone coyote's laughter...
