4\30\20

Tree

Swaying in the wind,

Branches bouncing.

A squirrel

Leaps, jumps, bounds

(Like a new wind up toy)

Up

The gnarled, brown, wet bark

Of the oak tree’s massive trunk.

The dewy green grass all around

Shuddering,

In the fierce gusts

Of cold air.

The buds are blowing

From side to side

Up and down.

A little sparrow

Stares up

At the great oak

In all of it’s majestic glory

And wonder.

5\5\20

Forest Colors

The bouncy, bright, joyes

Colors

Of the young leafy trees

Against a background

Of dull green firs and pines.

The underbrush:

A mix of

Greens, browns and yellows

With an occasional

Bright

Orange, red or purple

Flower.

lights in the midst of a green expanse.

Sometimes

A wispy, feathery frond

Brushes against

A passerbys leg

And every once in a while

An acorn

Or pinecone

Falls to the forest floor

With a soft

Thunk.

5\7\20

Robins & Sparrows

So many voices,

Merging together

(Tweat, tweat

Chirp, chirp)

Into an airborne symphony.

Some perched on phone wires

Others sitting atop

The uppermost branches

Of the oak

Among the big, green leaves.

A red breasted robin

Flutters from its perch.

A streak of black and then

A glimpse

Of its reddish orange underside.

Like an incredibly small

But immensely brilliant

Flame.

Soccer Ball

Crack the soccer ball goes zigzagging across the field

I kick to a teammate who passes to another

We shoot

The goalie catches and rolls

the soccer ball goes zigzagging across the field

They shoot

I catch

(the soccer ball hitting me

Like a bowling ball)

and when

The soccer ball goes zigzagging across the field

Again, it is moving towards

The other team’s goal

Past one defender, then another

We shoot

This time we score

In the top left corner of the goal

Then

The soccer ball goes zigzagging across the field

Once more

August Thunderstorm

Boom Crash Crack

Shssssssssssss

The dull clouds above exploding into torrents of of warm sky water

Boom Crash Crack

Droplets hitting the sizzling city pavement

Put put put put put put put put put

First just the tiniest bit

Pitter patter pitter patter

But then huge sheets of rain

Like a giant gray sheet

Splosh slosh splosh

Come tumbling

Down

Down

Down

The rain subsides and the umbrellas go down

Click click flop

The whole world smells like nature and growth

Water melon juice

It’s my very first ever

Watermelon day

And I am overjoyed to be sitting

In the sunny, hot big yard knowing that

Next year I will be a 1st grader and

Contentedly Eating watermelon while

The sticky surgery watermelon juice

Runs down my slice of melon and onto my hands

I mingle in the crowd

Of noisy kids.

talking and playing with friends

All the while thinking:

I’m a big kid now and

Next year I will be a 1st grader

When my teacher says “time for dismissal”

I remember feeling sad that I had to say

Goodbye to my friends

Before remembering that my mom said

I could have summer play dates

And that I would see my teachers next year

Except that

Next year I will be A 1st grader

Violin

Only a few feet from the

Dancing laughing musicians

But ...

The violin is still

Off in a dusty corner waiting

For it’s turn to be played

It’s owner comes

And opens up the case

To reveal a green velvety ocean inside

With the dark brown, shiny wood

Of the carefully placed

Violin staring up at it’s owner

Then all of a sudden

The violinist whirls the violin

Out of its case, onto their shoulder

And into the jubilant crowd

Of party goers

Before grabbing the bow

And proceeding to play

A joyful melody

On the elegant

Violin

The pile of instruments

-A few clarinets at the top, small it their shiny black cases

-But even smaller are the tiny, high pitched flutes

-The longest of them all is the weirdly shaped case of the trombones

-With the large bulk of the bell

-Although the heaviest by far is the strictly rectangular saxophone case

-Of to the side are the trumpets just slightly smaller than the saxophones

-Amidst the pile are various string instruments

-The violins with their velvety cases and multiple sizes

-And the guitars with their handles and long strong necks

-The last is the loudest, the ever proud and loud snares

That is the pile of instruments

Robin

The little red breasted robin

Proudly Jumping from branch to branch

Before gracefully spreading it’s downy wings

Chess Board

Chess board sitting there

Black and white squares staring up at me

Waiting to be used

Forsythia

The bright, golden forsythia

In mid bloom

Yellow flowers turned skyward

Social justice poem (Refugees)

When people

Are shunned away at borders

We protest and realize

When people

Are denied food and clean water

We rally and help

When people

Are separated from loved ones

We rise up and reconnect

When people

Are made to feel like

“Outcasts” and “foreigners”

We include, welcome and. . .

Build community

Swimming

Jumping into

The fresh,

Cold,

Clean.

Like a big

Wet fish

Breaststroke,

Backstroke,

All the inbetween.

You jump,

Cannon ball,

Dive,

Plummet

Then you SMILE