cookies, potato chips and jam
what kind of shelter
can gaza residents build
with israel's grocery list
of approved ingredients

not everyone's
meant to be a swimmer
whatever dreams
the lawn chair had
pulled out of the pond

singers, dancers and acrobats
on america's got talent
I'd settle
for just one of us knowing
how to fix the gulf oil spill

now that I've
finally found
the tennis racquet
only the dust motes
taking up the challenge

the tiger lilies
grouped together
beside the road
as if they were about to sing
but thought better of it


I could not salvage the tanka I posted earlier.

on a torn out page
of blue ocean
the smile
of a child's ship
with its number 4 sail
                         

every time I drive my car
or fly in an airplane
I am partly responsible
for the oil-soaked feathers
of dying pelicans

after smelling
several bottles of shampoo
a teenager's quest
ends with the purchase
of the one that makes her sneeze

I suppose he has a reason
for everything he keeps
like the rounds of buttons
cut off shirts
he no longer owns

spirals of glass
pointing in all directions
a compass
of  life's uncertainties
or just another bad hair day