Tag: poems

August 16, 2025

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I’m Constantly Amazed By How Much I Do Not Know About My Own Body Even At This Advanced Age (a)

She licked

my tragus. I

didn’t know the name of

that part of my body before

sitting

to write this poem about my cat

waking me up today

licking curls from

my ear.

A butterfly cinquain poem – a nine-line syllabic verse of the pattern 2 /4 / 6 / 8 / 2 / 8 / 6 / 4 / 2

This is Roxy, she’s a rescue and just over 2 years old. She finds all kinds of ways to let me know her food bowl is empty in the morning.

The tragus, I now know, is that part of your ear just opposite your ear lobe, that partially obstructs the ear canal.

May 26, 2025

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Green Marvel (Acronita fallax)

Night light a bit too bright

Misguided moth settles on the screen

Night flight, viburnum bite

Interrupted by the porch light scene

Black and white fringe delights

Bordering a mint-chocolate-chip green

Moss-like during daylight

Bulb out! Return to woodland canteen.

A naturette poem.

A form I invented to celebrate tiny bits of nature.

Rhyme, lines and syllables are:

6AA, 9B, 6CC, 9B, 6DD, 9B, 6EE, 9B

This one is inspired by my love of and curiosity for moths. And what lands on the screen door on those warm evenings when I leave the porch light on.

May 26,2025

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The pretend lichen

Attracted to the false moon

Front door deception

—————————————————————

A haiku (5-7-5 poem).

Inspired by my fascination with moths which I call the “butterflies of the night”. I was so taken and thrilled by seeing this mint green one on my screen door.

This is Acronicta fallax – the Green Marvel moth.

First in a series I’m calling the Blurry Nighttime Photos Series.

June 30, 2024

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Because I Like the Way the Sun Smells

The toe-headed boy with the bright blue eyes

Wanders over to where I stand at the line

Head to the side, he looks into my own blue eyes, the only part of me not hidden by the floral queen sheet I’m in the midst of taking down

He asks: do you have a dryer?

Yes, I say

Is it broken?

Nope.

Why are your clothes on the line?

Quickly all the reasons I dry my clothes outside run through my head:

– I love how the colors and patterns ripple in a breeze to form something new

– I love the satisfying snap of pulling linens from the line

– I like feeling the crunch of sun dried towels softening against my damp skin after a shower

– I like the way the sun smells on my clothes when I pull them out of the closet

– I’m trying to brighten our future

– I use less electricity

But what I say is the very last thing that comes to mind

– because I don’t have to spend money on electricity

I immediately wish I could take those words back, pin them down inside

I said this as if this was the most important reason

When truly it is the least of them.

Why couldn’t I bring myself to tell this boy about the magic that happens on the line?

How much magic is reduced to talk of cents?

April 4, 2024

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In Praise of Progressives

They’re a milestone of maturity

Like going from middle school to high school/ Like voting for the first time/Like paying my own car insurance/Like buying my own pet food/Like making my own doctors appointments/Like dancing in bra and panties around my own apartment/Like saying when I was a kid/Like groaning getting up from the couch/Like realizing wrinkles are a sign of a long life well lived/Like considering gray hair an accessory/Like purging what doesn’t add value

They help me see both up close and far away in just one pair to misplace

Sometimes I wish they could help me see what’s coming

Right now I’m happy

Because this morning they ensured I put ground ginger

Instead of onion powder in my oatmeal.

April 2, 2024

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Snow fleas (a type of springtail insect with an antifreeze like protein that makes it more tolerant of cold than other insects) on the melting snow along a trail

Snow Fleas

Melting snow where trees grow

Reveals more than long soggy trails

Antifreeze-filled snow fleas

More precisely known as springtails

Numbers grow, blacken snow

As they jump from the dampened trails

Harmless things, have no wings

Warm snowy days reveal springtails.

Naturette Poem. A poetry form I invented to write about a tiny detail of nature. 

The 8-line poem has the following rhyme scheme and syllable count:

6AA

8B

6CC

8B

6DD

8B

6EE

8B

October 2, 2023

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The fruit of Hearts-a-Burstin’ (Euonymous americana)

Entering the Friend Zone

You

Placed me

In the friend

Zone before we

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uttered I love you

Now I don’t know how to be,

All tied up in irony

Knowing every day

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My friends hear from

Me the words

I love

You

An Arkquain Poem

July 6, 2023

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Modern Love Story

I swiped right, we kissed

And I knew I would never

Check the app again

A 5-7-5 poem. Historically called a haiku but in Japanese tradition a haiku is more than just 3 unrhymed lines of 5-7-5 syllables. A haiku features images of nature, setting in a particular season, and some sort of juxtaposition in addition to the familiar syllable count. So, not meeting these requirements I call these 5-7-5 poems.

April 26, 2023

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Forget-Me-Nots

Ghosted

All night

The rain fell

Producing a fabricated sound

Much like

An out of tune guitar

And yet

It seemed to work

Like some obscure melody

On a far reaching

A.M station

……….

With heads sunken into

soft pillows they

listen to the hard rain

Each silently deciphering

messages in the static

Desperately wanting

to tell each other

the secrets of the sounds

But not wanting

to ruin the moment.

……….

Seamless bodies

Intertwined

Not knowing where one ends

And one begins

Rain gives way

Heart beats

Takeover

Tired lungs

Breathing

In and out

In and out

……….

Now more tuned into each other

Sharing synchronous breaths

And gentle laughs

They remain silent and still

Enjoying every last note

Like a driveway moment when a favorite song comes on the radio

Thunder rattles

Eyes dart

Hearts jump

Hands grasp

Lights out

Inspiration – I’m in the online dating scene and connected with this guy who, when he learned I like to write poetry, suggested we collaborate on a poem together. We did this through texting. He wrote the first and we alternated stanzas. We chatted a bit and met once and you can guess by the title the ultimate result.