tornado warnings
a mayfly climbs the window
as though it held
an invisible ladder
to safety

email jokes about ripping off
"widows and orphans"
could mary shelley foresee
the new frankenstein
turning up on wall street

as if he were george clooney
I wait at the end
of the line
to get a picture
of spongebob squarepants

not asking
for miracles
I cut myself with the knife
that was too dull
to cut potatoes

curving like the arc
of a crescent moon
lifelines that find
shelter in the palms
of our hands

a bowl of chili
on a warm day
I no longer
feel the need
to explain my choices

picking up
blades of grass
a young boy
smells each one as though
it held a flower

not exactly the place
where jules verne
would have ended his story
the hot air balloon
that lands in a cornfield

responsible for the sudden
surge in population
purple martins put
   "catawissa"
back on the map

a chimney sweep
turned violinist
the blue notes
of yesterday's smoke
carry the next song

staring across the lake
as if she were expecting
a ship to arrive
the mother goose waits
for her mate's return

the spin wheel
pattern of my sleep
gently rocked
by the cradles
of magnolias

icelandic horses
running as they might
on any given day
except for the cloud of ash
slowly heading towards them

For IIya:

from cape cod to miami
the cold waters
have taken their toll
identified by its scar
a manatee survivor

reports of a giant fireball
over the midwest
while I was busy typing
what could have been
my last tanka

A farmer in Wisconsin has turned over a meteorite fragment that hit the roof of his shed:

http://tinyurl.com/y7v5das

over ten years
of tax returns
filed away
how much have I been charged
for wars I don't believe in

abruptly ending
our discussion
the one-way boxing match
of a moth
against the porch light

everything reduced
in the used car lot
the first sales people
to greet us
are a pair of chickens

with roots buried
deeper than a coffin
I can only marvel
at the engineering
of a dandelion

they must have
the patience of job
this crowd
of cherry blossoms
taking in the grackle's song

contemplating
the monty hall problem
does it change anything
if the contestant would rather
have the goat than the car

             frost warnings
as though they believed
         in an afterlife
the tulips fold themselves
         into pyramids

zooming in
on the bug nebula
during my lunch hour
is it a butterfly
or bow-tie pasta


bug nebula image:


http://tinyurl.com/yd5sw44

no more rooms
at the beacon motel
two magnolias
spend another night
under the stars

The sign for the Beacon Motel was purchased and restored by the owner of a car wash in Pacific, MO.

for Noor:

for centuries
this unjust war
waged against women
when did we stop
honoring our daughters

easter marked
by tall tales
just like st. peter
the vatican
still in denial

the forsythia letting go
of its yellow crosses
I censor myself from all
the things I could have said
this easter sunday

content not to make
any headlines
the redbuds don
their purple vestments
for holy week

so many
delicate faces
at the orchid show
sometimes our greatest strength
is our fragility

flipping
the calendar
to april fool's day
why do I think today
will be any different?