family tradition:
plant trees for graduates
and watch how they grow
my mother's tree stands
at my great-aunt's former home
taller than us all
my sister's tree shades
disappearing middle-class
(our childhood home)
and my tree shocks me
evading the ash borer
with grandiose grace
what you don’t see here:
picking rhubarb in the rain
for salvation pie
all i want today
is to watch the sunlight shift
on these reborn blooms
the blue-sky morning
can't capture a year of loss
(oh Lord, that sweet scent)
yet afternoon light
so perfectly shines rosy
(ends this hell-frost year)
winter sunrise strokes
as soft as with a paintbrush
with red glow on snow
power lines define
the hidden energy here
ready to rise up
a long-shadowed pup
feels tall in the morning light
ready for the day
the sun god returns
leaving only soft snow drifts
to battle today
only two days late
the snow has taken over
(Lord, save us from drought)
no real snow day
just a cat and a puzzle
dreaming of travel
preparing for snow
though it seems another farce
(thank you climate change)
will a blizzard blow?
is March too late for shovels?
Friday, we will know.
cats and flowers rise
as soon as the sun is bright
to welcome rare rain
please, rain, end this drought
this plague of world crises
waiting at the door
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