as a child I once
told a neighbor
I was allergic to life
worse than pollen
the swollen eyes
from reading today's news

letters sent to politicians
screened out
by mail sorters
and office assistants
I write them anyway

If I write enough letters, maybe a few postal employees and office assistants will keep their jobs.

after waiting an hour
for a page to load
"crash, dump"
my computer starts writing
its own memoirs

as if the bank
of one butterfly
had insufficient funds
another butterfly
joins the milkweed

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