built in 1883

the narrows covered bridge

its lifespan stronger

than any words I have

to describe it

November regrets

at a roadside diner

I never found out

who bought my meal

nor had a chance to thank them.

La Roche de la Croix

what a view the pirates had

from the limestone ledges 

of Tower Rock

the Mississippi so low

I can retrace their footsteps

"Were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood"

Job 22:16

Crossing the Dunes

flood waters rushing 

through the Sahara

as though it were a biblical tale

the palm trees standing

in their own reflections

"Do No Harm"

whir

of the fan blades

the top speed not enough

to keep us cool 

during the debate

                     pages of writing

              I wish I could read what's on

                       a butterfly's wing

              the buckeye saw me looking

                and moved a thistle away

red circles under my eyes

the injury

of a mosquito bite

takes longer to heal

than the first assault

summer began with

the long drive to get there

grandma's front porch

from rice and old bottle caps

we made our own tambourines

approaching train

a boy with his hands

over his ears 

as if the noise were gunshots

on the Fourth of July

an old woman seated

on a low railing 

she faces the windows

with rooms as dark

as her black sweater

harvest time

a bale of hay tied

to the horse's back

by a boy who looks younger

than the horse

the future shaped by

the boy's pointed elbows,

the curve of the haystack,

and the bend 

in his grandmother's back