Monday, February 17, 2014

100 percent

I was hopeful this morning.  When I got up, the predicted 100 percent snow had not begun.  Then came the fluffy flakes.  Then it began in earnest.  And just now, as I write, it has stopped again. Maybe there will be more scheduled breaks.

This is 100 percent
Snow.
It started fluffy white flakes.
All too soon
This snow
Got down to business.
It is now 9:50.
The coffee break is over.
Monday
100 percent
Means
100 percent.
What are we paying you for?
After all
What are we paying you for?
Get to it
You have a job to do.
Productivity
is everything.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Valentine's Day

Of course the questions remains:  did I notice the red birds more yesterday because of the occasion or do they always come?  The red birds tend not to be ground birds, so the fly in, grab a seed, then fly away.  Still... whichever it is, I love it.

The birds showed up
Dressed for the day,
Pecked the seed from the ground:
The male cardinal
Bright as anything,
The red-bellied woodpecker
Most notable
For his scarlet mullet
Yet singularly indistinguishable
Belly.
The red birds showed to accent
The juncos
The sparrows
The starlings.
The red birds showed
To accent the crowd gathered
In the cold.
They all
Ate seed.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Clarity

Amazing birds.  Juncos.  Their markings so striking against the snow.  A sight to behold.  I could watch them for hours.

The juncos appear
So clear against the snow
Divinely marked
Dark gray and white.
We spread the seed
Close to the window.
They arrive en masse
Clear against the snow.
I marvel
At their dark gray,
Their whiteness,
Clear against the snow, 
Astonished
By their clarity.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Dry-pack daffodils

Daffodils always seem to help.

This is the time of year
For dry-pack daffodils.
They arrive
Out of water,
A bundle
Of sticks.
The arranged sticks
In my best vase
Water added
Show their color
Day by day.
My Monday sticks are now
Full bloom
On Saturday.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Nunc Dimittus

What if there's more than this?

What if the groundhog
Sees more than sun
Or shade?
What if the groundhog
Predicts
Groundhog life and health
Or maybe even more?
What if the groundhog
Showing up
Is enough for us to imagine
Something different
Than this,
Something more
Than this?
What if the coincidence
Of groundhogs
And Jesus shown off
A babe in Mary’s arms
In the Temple
For the first time,
Recognized by Simeon and Anna
The oldest ones there
Signals yet another beginning,
Something new
Not sun
Or shade
But something new
Altogether
Never before seen or heard?
What if the groundhog
Sees more than sun or shade
And Simeon can finally
Depart in peace?