Day Dealings

sunset on this day
 can’t capture light nor finish
 what the day has dealt
 
 i’ll run till i die
 or die trying to run free
 from days that chase me
 
 

Love’s Labor Lost

beach day ends summer
 (though it’s already over)
 school can kick our ass
 
 she’ll paddle toward sun
 let weekend sparkles shine through–
 make this week worth it
 
 with our lives packed up
 these small moments so matter
 more than i can say
 
 even with the rain
 that raced us back to our car
 we dried off. and won.
 
 

Smooth Migration

my thousandth visit
 just as pretty as the first
 brings peace to my stress
 
 and seeing her run
 beating her time on day two
 goose wings to the sky
 
 

Dusks and Dawns

red sky at night brings…
 allergies, fires, candles…
 and love. my love. love!
 
 red sky at morning
 sailors give warning: heart bursts
 for what’s lost at night
 
 

Anywhere but Here

with windows wide: write.
 because you’ve missed my poems, love.
 since yesterday’s dawn
 
 girls in sun’s shadow
 as she announces her move.
 life: cycle in, out.
 


you know you’ve missed me
 my “seven-likes” followers
 ’cause i didn’t write
 
 you count me daily
 amongst the regular loves
 that make us a life
 
 and i was just born.
 (it was like i was just born
 the day i met him)
 


’cause seventeen years
 can’t be measured in mountains
 or wildflowers
 


or whining children.
 but in the steps we oft take
 on our way back home
 
 and in sunsets. Sun!
 lighting my way across love
 across city, life.
 


cutting down this ‘hood
 into what it’s meant to be:
 scraped, demolished, lost.
 
 circular i am
 because that’s how tires spin:
 neverending globe
 


that brings us back home
 wherever that home may be.
 anywhere but here.
 

Sunny Skies Ahead

he comes home with clouds
 hovering over new joy
 (where we could be free)
 
 but then i must ask:
 is freedom found in money?
 so hard to answer
 
 those without know best:
 lack of money’s a prison
 choking month to month
 
 those with all know best:
 too much money is a trap
 biting claws of greed
 
 it was just enough
 for shoes, road trips, water parks
 just enough to breathe
 
 i want that freedom–
 monthly-cycle jail-cell break
 so far from the clouds
 
 

Cheesecake Cycle

early morning ride
 in search of a springform pan
 obstacles block route
 
 stores aren’t convenient
 when his birthday’s tomorrow
 and i just can’t wait
 
 twenty-four miles
 transforms fast to thirty-two
 in mid-morning heat
 
 Google, phone fail me
 i meander through suburbs
 Google, phone save me
 
 prairie dog hit/run
 lost glove, quick tea/chocolate swigs
 breathless arrival
 
 cold shower, dentist
 girls busy with chores, reading
 in the name of love
 
 but i got the pan
 for the best cheesecake ever
 for the man i love
 

Rays of Happiness

joy found in river
 dipped in snowmelt for hot days
 better than a beach
 
 no hot tub lies here
 just a circular rock wall
 perfect for chilling
 
 Colorado sun
 mixed with friends, camping, river:
 rays of happiness
 
 

Once in a…

blue moon this July
 because of this rare campout?
 old friends united 
 
 over the mountains 
 it fills sky with silver light
 it guided us home
 
 tomorrow? August
 all the stress and joy it brings
 to our small family
 
 but for now? spotlight 
 reminding of our past
 our future lit up
 
 
 

Stolen

she mentioned poem theft
 when i went to Toronto
 and i laughed and laughed
 
 would someone steal poems
 so specific to my life
 day after day… kids??
 
 would they steal this pic
 formulated by daughters’
 view of this bright world?
 
 would they steal these plates
 drying when hot water broke
 no plumber can come?
 
 would they steal our ride
 our dip in the river, creek?
 and claim it’s their poem?
 
 would they fix plumbing?
 be my man–wire phone lines?
 they couldn’t be me
 
 my poems, words, are mine
 trapped here for worldwide view
 no one would steal them