the impertinent squawks
of blue jays during
the presidential address
they must know that troops
are still being deployed
to afghanistan

the flap of 500,000
pigeons at sunrise
I'm happy not to be part
of the inflated crowd
at the glenn beck rally

a step back in time
into the narrow booths
of crown candy
where there's no plans to expand
anything but the patrons

In business since 1913, Crown Candy Kitchen is a St. Louis landmark featuring great ice cream, candy, and other food items. 

http://crowncandykitchen.net/about/

well protected
from the midday sun
a bee resting
under the parasol
of a squash blossom

a chipmunk eyes me
from its rock perch
perhaps I'm
the only nut it's met
along this overgrown trail

a dimly-lit waiting room
as if this were a restaurant
where the waiter
is about to give me a bill
I don't want to see

Quotes by George Orwell:

"War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent. "



"Political language - and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists - is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. "


"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. "

"Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act. "


Source:

http://www.george-orwell.org/l_quotes.html

cardinals surveying
the Garden's ProgresS
neither the government
nor the birds respect
a citizen's curtilage

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2013150,00.html?iid=tsmodule

as though
they were campaigning
for a political office
the dark and disfigured leaves
of an american elm

the repeated flatness
of the interstate
I roll down the windows
and sing anything out of tune
just to stay awake