Curiosity
might have killed the cat,
but it could very
well save me. Should I run with
what I think I know,
or should I pause, breathe, question,
breathe again, and see
if the tale I’ve been spinning
is a fear-born fantasy?
JDG
Reveille
Was it a greeting
or a scold, that outpouring
of early morning
bird talk? Was it addressed to
me or another
early riser or was it
just a strong commentary?
JDG
When
When what once flamed bright
sputters and dies, the struggle begins.
With growing urgency we search.
Where are those matches, maps,
and memories that might bring warmth or light?
When none can be found, the whys appear
(no, not that wise, but the other one),
the why me, why here, why now.
With chilling coolness the Universe asks,
“Why not?”
And thus we begin the long trek
through the murky middle
where the only certainty
is that we’re here, as we are, right now.
JDG
Two Senryu (a guest post by Janet Cook)
Forget or forgive?
Remember the hot stove burns,
but it bakes bread, too.
~
I’m trying to help.
Not sure what to do until
A misstep says stop.
Janet Cook
Ripples
Ripples on the pond:
candidates run, critics leap,
summer heaves a sigh.
JDG
Still Point
Day’s end: pond burns with reflective fire
while trees stand
sentinel
holding
space
for
the slow
deepening
of star drenched night
when pond will catch a gently falling moon.
JDG
Hunting Treasure
When I was a kid,
my friends and I rode pretend
horses in moonlight,
found treasures in unlikely
places, dug a hole
to China, and cautioned our
younger siblings not
to get too close for it was
a long ride down with
no way back. Though I never
fell in that China
hole, life pushed me forward til
I left behind those moon-lit
rides and followed a
different course. It’s only now,
more than six decades
later, that I’ve returned to
moon-lit rides and hunting treasure.
JDG
For The Birds
Though some congressmen
say climate change is for the birds,
it really isn’t.
It finished off the golden toad
and is putting the polar bear,
the orange spotted file fish,
and even sea coral at risk.
It’s not climate change that’s for the birds.
It’s those change-denying congressguys
who, with any luck, will grow extinct.
JDG
Sitting Practice
If just sitting is wasting time,
I aspire
to be a real
time waster.
A better way to spend these hot
Virginia days
is hard to find
so I’ll just sit
and let the bees and butterflies
flit. I’ll just sit
until a breeze
whispers, “Rise up,”
and even then it may take me
a bit to give
up this sacred
act of sitting.
JDG
National Hide And Seek
Searching for answers
where none can be found because
we want to avoid
asking the uncomfortable
questions and begin from there.
JDG
