The Moods Follow Me

Wood fence is concealed--

Pampas is taking over;

Soon victorious.

First, it's sunny out;

Then the world is gray and dull.

The moods follow me.

Even the red ball

Cannot lift my dim spirits.

I just have to wait.

Rooster looks at me

Poses for a picture;

Curious goat watches.

.

Silently they flit:

Birds to the bushes and squirrels--

Feathered and furry.

It's growing darker--

Trampoline is lined with leaves

Under the gray sky.

Children have vanished,

But still the road sign remains;

(Their laughter is gone)

Overturned trash can

In front of empty bottle;

There's nobody home.

What mystery this

In neatly tied plastic bag?

Discarded dog shit.

Make Their Own Bridges

November morning;

Shadow scuttles on the floor;

Insect ? (Or my mind?) 

Furry bump on tree

Turns into a sleek squirrel;

Then a bump again.

Wind chimes are clinking

Keeping time to the wind's song

With their own rhythm.

No cloud in the sky--

Fantasies of a snow storm

Still live in my mind.

Planted on the car

Tree shadows assume their place

Without any care.

As if by design

Tree branches in the forest

Make their own bridges.

Sun drenched mountain path

Leading, as always, nowhere.

(Good enough for me.)

Fern light flourishes

Enhanced by kiss of the sun

And gentle caress.

 

Raises Some Questions

Bright November day;

Even dead leaves look lively;

Spider web strands shine.

Evergreens are green;

Rhododendron buds are full;

Is winter coming?

Etched on the tree trunk--

Maps of strange territory

Still to be explored.

Back to back they stand--

Collette and Olivia

Across the barnyard.

Queen Anne's Lace clutches

Tiny tender blooms that were--

Now live as dry ghosts.

A trail of pine cones

Lining up along the road

Raises some questions.

Low slung woodpecker

Hit these trees--nobody saw;

(Must have been at night.)

Old fence loses teeth,

Falling incrementally;

Needs some new bridge work.

Only the Holes Know

Sun has disappeared;

Clouds have fully cloaked the sky; 

Whole world is gray now.

Gliding past my house

A figure with a red hat;

Animal or man?

Rhododendron buds

Stand up brightly this dim day;

Don't mind the weather.

Where are the lilacs?

Only their dim leaves remain.

(Not even a scent).

Stream is all shadows:

Liquid darkness and cloud light.

Faint water whispers.

Receiving new gifts

Flat rock graciously accepts them,

Its stone arms open.

They are still waiting

For wind to blow them away:

These patient seed puffs.

Eating on the road

Goat enjoys some new freedom;

(Then he's had enough).

Woodpecker's pecking--

Did they find anything here?

Only the holes know.

The magic wood snake

Poised in mid air, not to strike,

But to take a look.

Fake Resurrection

Walks from November 8-12, 2017

Blue-jays race and caw

Flying, shrieking angrily;

Then, there's just their sound.

My first day at home

And my worries returning. 

Happy for my walk.

In front of Buddha

A spider has caught a leaf

And left it hanging.

As white as a ghost

Phantom mushroom sits alone

In November soil.

Collette is eating;

Olivia in shadows;

Each in their own world.

Shadows in the woods;

Dark lines falling on dead leaves--

November portent.

Obliterated:

Road sign hidden by dirt, age

Will just be a shape.

Pine cones on the road

Distinguished by their shadows;

Buzz saw in the woods.

November 9, 2017

Bright sunlit morning;

I remember that I'm home;

Dark shadows are still.

Coffee roaster stopped;

The house is filling with silence;

Fridge runs and then stops.

Two cows are standing

Like statues in their front lawn,

Enjoying the sun.

Trembling in breeze--

Timothy glows in sunlight--

Autumn excitement.

Two leaves suspended

As they're falling to the ground,

Pause for a photo.

The ancient stream bed

Contains only dead leaves now

(And an old beer can).

Leaves hang suspended

In the bushes where they fell--

Fake resurrection.

Door to the basement

Just an empty opening:

Portal to darkness.

November 11, 2017

It's so very cold;

I still have yet to go out.

Sun in winter mode.

Twinkle in the leaves--

Sun's smiling through the branches

Welcoming me out.

Staring into space

Olivia munches grass.

(Meditative cow?)

Forsythia leaves

Have lost their former splendor.

(Pampas plants still glow.)

Stretching cross the creek

Two logs joining together

Create their own bridge.

Winding forest path

Unworn by feet of humans;

Carved by dark shadows.

Proudly posing goat

Shines in the light of the sun--

A golden creature!

November 12, 2017

Black dots in the green;

Birds moving in the bushes;

Check for food--then leave.

Squirrel runs down tree trunk,

Then merges into brown-gray.

(Was it ever there?)

Limbs stretched gracefully:

Slender tree branch on the road,

Poised like a dancer.

From both directions--

Walkers on the road today.

It's a sunny morn.

Single dead leaf hangs

In forest of bare branches;

It waits for the wind.

If the sun is right

And the earth cooperative

Even dead leaves glow.

Venerably gray,

Guarding the gate to the house--

Two pampas clusters.

Seems like he's crying--

More a search than a message

This wandering crow.