Another COVID Milestone

quarantine closures
plus trapped-home anxiety
delayed this moment

yet, the smile wins
a year later, we made it
(a taste of freedom)

Digging Out

first building puzzles
then cuddling with kitties
nice to see that grin

reality sits
between aspen dream ski runs
and running a house

a hellish week (year)
but we are nearing the end
and it’s so damn sweet

a wilting orchid 
brought by an empty classroom:
symbol of my month

or this calendar 
hiding (not hiding) events
never. ending. tasks.

vaccine Valentine 
does love get any better
than this science?

she's eighteen too soon
my oldest baby, my star
i hope she'll go far

i am not here now
forever staring at screens.
i am here. on skis.

The last run.

i’ll grasp this aspen 
framed by its own starry night
when i need some peace

an exhausting day
with my spirit-week “jersey”
and this fake smile

hidden by these masks
that have broken our world
like a rootless orchid

but this cat. this cat.
a soft purrfection presence 
worth a real grin.