summertime's hot winds
bending over the cell phone
finger in my ear
mentally tracing
the outline and deep shadows
of a charmed necklace
near the garbage can
with lettuce and feta cheese
abandoned rabbit
demolition days
the sand castle's western wall
welcoming the tide
waking in the night
fingertips along the wall
to guide her way home
teasing the kite string
dragon huffing and puffing
to a crystal sky
voracious vacuum
grabs hold of the tasseled rug
for some tug o' war
still in the driveway
reading the new manual
cover to cover
summer's first delight
the ripened apricot held
between tongue and cheek
fingering fabric
wondering what it would take
to mismeasure you
at dawn, two women
laughter rolls from their window
birds caught eavesdropping
wetlands shimmering
singing to one another
a train and cricket
tall reeds giving way
a mother with one duckling
so fiercely guarded
lightning fast spider
peering into the tissue
to find only dust
quick breath of four wings
still fluttering, still tumbling
only the hawk cries
gray cement mixer
casting shadows on the ground
like empty cannons
charging into you
door tugged from opposite sides
charging into me
text message arrives
vibrating hot in my hand
this endless summer
under the window
small dove in the flower box
still stunned and confused
out here in the reeds
we would plant a floating house
and learn how to row
aching legs and chest
from running through fire season
smoke breathed into you
wood planks of the bridge
lift their fingers to trip me
time to stop and play
two dozen roses
nothing so complicated
nor simple as this
the salt taste of air
your shadow running through me
at the scuba cove
foghorn on the point
creeping through the night window
loneliness echoes
tugging on his shirt
as though it would hold him back
the toddler running
the hide-and-seek spray
fumbling for binoculars
to glimpse the humpback
the hand-drawn fence sign
"please no religious zealots,
not of any kind"
American dream
scrawled on her business card
"make million dollar"
snake around her neck
hoping to score the cool chicks
attracts kids instead
snarled race day traffic
men in pink tutus
pass us yet again
1938
cherry condition pickup
passes the hybrid
blown out window panes
each square shimmering desire
fractured four by four
an overgrown tree
shyly hiding behind her
the Irish wolfhound
no pay raise at work
we hoard the subsidized snacks
to balance our books
eager teenage boys
step into a cologne cloud
on a Friday night
left at the printer
medical diagnosis
for a colleague's child
idling exhaust clouds
seniors climb aboard the bus
a gambling field trip
she gives me a grin
caught in flannel pajamas
on garbage morning
running figure eights
in the backyard of delight
golden retriever
two year old wonder
every fifteen minutes
cheering for the train
flip flapping his wings
the tiny gosling outruns
the laughing jogger
the economy
measured by a man diving
recyclable cans
sushi restaurant
piped in over the speakers
early Elton John
their behinds jiggling
an owner and two bulldogs
thud down the sidewalk
the shape of a heart
waiting for a place to land
the heron hovers
catching a raindrop
the taste of lost centuries
lingers on her lip
crickets now quiet
the bullfrog resumes his song
with the first raindrops
cocks her head and waits
for master's witty reply
golden retriever
boots laced to her knee
the bridge of his thought goes out
another rises
second floor window
the outline of a snail's shell
such tall hopes and dreams
"keep smiling" tee shirt
and clashing Bermuda shorts
old man's twinkling eyes
lost in thoughts of you
raindrops on the windshield come
and so this is rain
with bright pink laces
the hopeful soccer player
wears new shoes to bed
quickly close your mouth
jogging alongside the trail
the gnats are hatching
opening the book
the only binding I want
to break is my own
recipe advice
garbanzos and kidney beans
"not for company"
tattooed and withered
somehow she survived this far
to sell discount shoes
across the tall field
exchanging bleats and laughter
the fat goat and I
ambitious new hire
pantomimes hopeful golf swings
near the CEO
quiet between waves
stillness but for a heartbeat
a blackbird singing
gray sky is heavy
a saturated tea bag
on the saucer's rim
fireball sun sinking
as clouds seal the horizon
on another day
on the pool's surface
the drunken water striders
stumbling steadily
Japanese maple
filtering the evening glow
path ahead blushes
empty stone lantern
imprisons the setting sun
one moment each day
skilled garden raking
concentric circles of sand
this splash of pebbles
mid-afternoon lull
headed for a cup of joe
to get through the grind
amidst plastic grass
worriedly missing an ear
chocolate bunny
the software is cracked
refactoring the egg back
into the thin hen
the wave of hiccups
crashing deliriously
near champagne bubbles
such fervent wailing
spurs us to investigate
creek side choir practice
better acquainted
with the growl of my dentist's
stomach than my own
lengthening the dream
moonshine and spring dew pouring
in through the window
tending to the yard
squirrels continue digging
where humans left off
watching his fingers
tremble the wrapping paper
sun low in the sky
bumblebees tapping
the window with striped behinds
the flowers blushing
the prism sparkles
when compared to a lighthouse
catching fire then flame
a can of salmon
crunching merrily on bones
that have made it through
another season
the tree moves toward the wind
still in love with you
March wind in the reeds
if I could but translate you
to echo myself
still at the bus stop
the blind black woman laughing
with the broken Vet
cherry blossoms fall
with a quiet persistence
disappearing cars
the helicopter
trembling against the night sky
the police report
fish out of water
negotiating high heels
drowning in champagne
dusty bug graveyard
the overhead light fixture
I refuse to clean
the widening skies
an odd object clearly seen
unidentified
borrowed summer day
buying a pack of stickers
and an ice cream cone
washed with white tissues
the sweater works the lint brush
testing all patience
annoyed by the sound
of recommended flossing
her headphones louder
waiting and watching
the natives restless at work
for acquisition
under the blanket
a knitted patchwork reveals
light from starry skies