a gust
through the windsock
morning chill


brass bell, Nov 2015

drifting
through the bug screen
cricket song


Under the Basho, 2015

spaghetti dinner
I watch her twirl
her hair


brass bell, Nov 2015

wilderness trail
he wanders off the edge
of his map


Frogpond 38.3

butterfly effect
the children stop
to watch

Frogpond 38.2

drifting
between lanes
night fog


cattails Sep 2015, Editor's Choice

breaking at the surface his moment as a fish


A Hundred Gourds, Sep 2015

no breeze
to turn the pinwheel
summer heat


cattails Sep 2015

smudged
across my fingers
the ink I thought
would become
my best poem

wolf moon
the growl of a muscle car
long after dark


Bamboo Hut, Sep 2015

cajun night
the heat of her
french kiss


hedgerow 38

the way
she carries another
man's scent
I'm still unaccustomed
to my new deodorant


Bright Stars 6

spring concert
the trumpet lilies
pianissimo


Bamboo Hut, Sep 2015

I stand my ground
against the wasp
feigning the courage
I want
my kids to learn


Skylark Tanka, Winter 2014

open window
a loose leaf flutters
under my pen


hedgerow 40

cricket song
I turn to speak in
Dad's good ear


hedgerow 39

however still
I stand my shadow
rises and falls
with the ripples of
the lake


Bright Stars 4

behind trees
folded like hands
no one suspected
the forest
was bluffing


Vine Leaves 12

appearing at
the edge of the city
mountains
hundreds of
miles away


Atlas Poetica 21

electric guitar
every mistake
amplified


Gems Anthology 2014

wiping its droppings
off my sleeve
there's only
one way I'm
looking at a blackbird


Atlas Poetica 20

he can't hit
the opening pitch
national anthem

Gems Anthology 2014

embracing
me a moment
the river
now flowing
downstream


Bamboo Hut, May 2015

exercise bike
the damned thing
just sits there


cattails Jan 2015

divided highway
we don't speak
for hours


Gems Anthology 2014

he looks at me
like I'm from another
planet -
in his headphones
Bruno Mars


Undertow 6

light snow
she brushes off
my opinion


brass bell, Dec 2014

idling
on the driveway
my anger


tinywords 15.1

driving home
with one headlight
evening sun


Gems Anthology 2014

having outgrown
the backyard
play set
only the wind now
riding the swings

Bright Stars 5

at the end
of a long night
of blues
Lucille still
whispering in my ear

- for B.B. King


Undertow 6

irish pub
our accents
grow thicker

tinywords 14.2

children's zoo
the first exhibit
my kids


cattails Jan 2015, Editor's Choice

enduring
as the falling
rain
her masterpiece
in sidewalk chalk


Undertow 5

only my
imagination stirs
night winds


cattails, Jan 2015

unable to shake
last night's dream
day moon

all I caught
was the bush behind me
and the ire
of my father snipping
down another hook

Bright Stars 3