Poems & Other Lies
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...
Frozen Pinwheels
Mimicking a steep mountain avalanche the snow rumbles off my lodge suddenly sliding down in sheets and curls scrubbing the canvas clean
Snowy Morning
Two crows and a robin cross the blank, gray sky overhead A wren pauses on a snowdrift before joining a junco in the filigree atop a birch Squirrels make their cautious way through the grove as small birds flit through oak branches flocked with white The snow...
Rocks is My Pillow
Oh my Darlin' Oh my Darlin' Oh my Darlin' Clementine You are lost and gone forever, dreadful sorry Clementine. June 1rst, 2007 - November 20th, 2021
Day and Night
A gust blows through the not quite bare oaks, filling the air with swirling leaves. Clouds part and the sun slants bright golden light through the pouring rain. Coyotes whoop in the dark, then fall still. Their echoing cries fade to silence. The bright stars...
The Haint
The fire had burned low. Its flickering light joined the soft glow of a kerosene lantern hanging from the lifting pole at the back of the lodge. I lay on my cot, staring up at the tipi canvas suspended overhead by a cone of slender poles. Walter...
