How did Merullo 

see inside my head? Hornets

in a jar, he said.

That swarm seldom seems to rest.

It’s time I removed the lid.

                                                                                      JDG

(With thanks to Roland Merullo and his funny and thought-provoking novel. DINNER WITH BUDDHA)

The trees are so still

now. They must be directing

their energies down

deep, toward their roots, preparing

for the big winds yet to come.

                                                                                                             JDG

Not where I once was.

Not where I’m going to be.

Right now I’m trying

to hold space for me and this

strange incongruity.

                                                                                         JDG

You can’t keep a good

bachelor down. Every summer

the big machine grinds

them into the ground, but they

always rise, singing the blues.

                                                                                              JDG

This summer evening

among gold-struck trees, I breathe

in the sadness of

seeing her go and breathe out

the joy of seeing her grow.

                                                                                         JDG

Though I know it was

only the breeze, even the

sunflowers seemed to

droop as they waved goodbye and

she headed off to college.

                                                                                            JDG

What better way to

spend this unexpected gift

of time than to sit

and leisurely compose a

poem that may or may not rhyme.

                                                                                              JDG

At this point the kids

and I don’t see eye to eye.

They’re questioning why

school had to start in August.

I wonder why not July.

                                                                                JDG

This tease of a breeze

whispers promises, raising

hopes of cooler days.

Clouds try to hide sun’s grin, though

they know he’ll have the last laugh.

                                                                                              JDG

With no guarantee

of why or when, we reach for

the best, acknowledge

the worst, celebrate our gains,

mourn our losses, make our peace.

                                                                                        JDG