not as appealing
as deer standing
in the meadow
yet surely skunks must be 
endearing to each other

losing sight of the ball
after it's been hit
instead I catch the moon
above the lights
of a billboard

no set agenda
for today's meeting
the table wobbles enough
to become part
of the conversation

on this longest day I wish
the humidity would travel
to some arid land
where it could make flowers
bloom instead of wither

*For the summer solstice which was actually on Monday.

from the clown's
survival guide
dad gave me his sense of humor
without giving me a sense
of how to use it wisely

Even though my father and I differed on politics and religion, we shared many interests.  To him, I owe my fondness of nature, my love of birds and hiking.  Some Father's Day statistics:

http://tinyurl.com/32kurms

more helicopters
than traffic swarming
the house at 2 a.m.
maybe they mistook our roof
for a landing site

accusations
of stonewalling
poison ivy
doesn't respond well
to the shake of one's finger

finding a silver lining
in the afternoon breeze
the bur oak
carries the only news
worth reading

near the sprawling hills
of the state capitol
108 dogs have spent their lives
in cages not much bigger
than a shoebox


http://www.missourifordogs.com/media/news/108-dogs-rescued-central-missouri-puppy-mill