Claiming territory
a chihuahua and poodle
move across the grounds
claiming new territory
for their home
as we walk towards them
they bark and run
retreating from us
losing ground
they finally slip through a hole
into their yard
a woman opens a door
and they run in
we laugh–
two dogs on a conquering mission
saved from the consequences
of being runaways
A Small Victory after Chemo
Leash in hand, I trot
beside you as we make
our daily visit to the mail box.
You lean into the leash,
my protector, my friend,
as if to say: Hurry.
Heat bakes our bones;
breeze tickles our ears
a girl and a terrier
From A Flicker of Hope: Poems written by a Wegener’s Granulomatosis Survivor published in 2011.
Technology glitch
Technology is so convenient
and inconvenient at the same time
I searched up down over and under
to find one remote
I hadn’t used for weeks
A black hole, dimensional gate
had swallowed it or so I thought
I pumped my fist and cursed
In the old days
all I had to do was
go outside and walk
my exercise complete in thirty minutes
today, the future, I wasted forty-five minutes
for a remote
Some days
a teenage boy
stares my husband down
the newest result
of juvenile delinquency
and lax discipline
a boy who bullied
the man who lost half a brain
to a virus in his youth
a boy who challenged
an Iraqi vet who suffered
and survived PTSD
my husband stares back
with all the experience
he gained as a teen soldier
in Vietnam
Sunrise Sonnet
As the body wakes
the sun builds above the hills
tight muscles ache
and meadowlarks trill
The quiet night sounds break
to a hymn of life
as the orange-gold rays overtake
the stings of night-strife
One breath crests
unfurls the leaves of pipal-
let the eye-of-god rest
upon his people
My body bows in first position,
an active sunrise meditation.
Published in Sonnet Playground in 2011.
Sunshine – a haiku
clouds pushed by strong winds
sunlight streams from the heavens
another bright day
