A long legged bird

came calling today,

one I’d never seen before.

Was it an emergency landing

or just a brief pit stop?

                                                  JDG

I sit and listen.

My grandkids hold forth

with facts garnered from TikTok.

I experience the simple joy

of connecting without comment.

                                                       JDG

Extending her paw,

she gently touches my arm,

clearly wanting to connect.

“You stay too busy,” she purrs,

“Please put me on your agenda.”

                                                         JDG

Thank a squirrel.

The tree you see

may have come to be

because of a nut it buried

and then forgot.

                                           JDG

We can’t change the facts.

They are what they are.

But the way we look

at them can change

and form a different story.

                                             JDG

Hard as it is

to look at his empty bed,

I can’t put it away – not yet.

I know the time will come,

but not now.

                                         JDG

To potatoes of thought,

add onions of emotion,

stir in tomatoes of regret

and any leftover beef.

Simmer indefinitely.

                                          JDG

High among the branches

of a distant tree

rests a glowing

patch of red

with shimmering wings.

                                                JDG

 The day breaks

grey except for 

that red cardinal

waiting at

the feeding tray.

                        JDG

Flowering blackberry bushes

remind us

there is beauty 

and the promise of fruit

even among the thorns.

                                                 JDG