Continue On

another year gone
 middle moving to middle
 grammar school now done
 
 my babies no more
 the years become blurred photos
 hidden by my tears
 
 

Apology

sometimes the wrong words
 are just the fire i need
 to try for kindness
 
 
 

My Gym Today

city officials planned my afternoon,
 marking a triangular pink line
 ready for tomorrow’s slaughter
 (for an inclusive world)
 
 the girls and i set to work,
 abandoned wagon in tow,
 trip after trip filled with rocks and rhubarb
 ready to be salvaged
 
 in neat lines we laid our stones,
 replanted our ripe-ready fruit,
 made easy plans for controlling mulch
 and baking tart spring pies
 
 the girls ran off with new neighbors
 (one stayed behind to lend muscle and wheelbarrow)
 and my workout was taken over
 by heavy lifting and a dream house
 
 

Sprung Upon

a single email
 can spring up late Friday tears
 i’ve been holding in
 
 friendship’s mystery
 lies in glad discoveries
 so easily lost
 
 my heart aches and blooms
 for all that i have… and don’t
 (that’s how petals fall)
 
 

Behind the Classroom Door

what seems like brightness
 is a trick to bring more heat
 to this hot classroom
 
 what a way to start–
 climb on toes, on stool, on desk
 to shut those damn blinds
 
 just one sacrifice
 like the hundreds daily made
 by every teacher
 
 (and who designed these??
 thirteen-foot-high hell windows,
 bastards of the sun?)
 
 this is my Wednesday:
 rise before dawn to face light
 i’d rather not see
 
 

Pluck the Season

first harvest now reaped
 just in time for spring planting
 and a spinach dip
 
 

Naughty Cat

a soiled morning
 sprinkled with Monday chaos
 at every corner
 
 

Happy Mother’s Day

caught in the stream bed
 three beautiful growing girls
 who made me a mom
 
 

Refocus

when you’re trapped by gloom
 and unable to say why
 refocus your lens
 
 you might catch a glimpse
 of golden sunlit peaks;
 a stand-alone tree
 
 spring rain bringing food
 (hidden in these rays, raindrops)
 to a front range ranch
 
 refocus your lens–
 windows will open your eyes
 to a clearer view
 
 

Awake at 5:00 a.m.

sometimes exhaustion
 disrupted by weeklong pain
 can bring fresh beauty