A Cold February Night
The moon is hiding;
      only the big dipper is overhead
On a bitterly cold night in late February
      coyote howls carry long and eerily.
Dogs are silent.
Deer and skunks,
raccoons and possums
                           go unseen.
Danger seems afoot.
It's time for bed--
       no matter
           what the clock says.

While in Bed
In the dark warmth of my bed
I sometimes feel my heart beating,
or I hear small, almost imperceptible  sounds.
Inevitably, when this happens,
I wonder
what else might I feel,
what else might I hear
if I were as still and quiet
at other times of day.

New Friendship Baptist Church
Along Dixon Road
       stands a small white clapboard church.
At night when people are gone
  and lights alone mark the church
      it looks haunted and abandoned.
But on Sundays--
    when the people are coming and going
          and the singing and preaching
             can be heard outside
                   down the hills and around the bends
you know that
      God is worshiped here.

Morning
I awake
my arms around Jeanine
sun streaming through the window,
warming us,
and I just know
it will be another
great day.

Cold Winds
Winds blow harsh and cold
      making me wish for spring
Even though I know that
     sweltering summer days will follow.

Laughing Crows
It can be a long lonely walk
    from our house
        up the driveway
             to where my car sits.
Today was no exception:
    I slipped and slid
         up our icy driveway
accompanied only by the  echoing
      laughter of  the crows  flying overhead.

Thank you for reading (and keeping me writing)

100 and Going Strong!

My thanks to you, my loyal readers. I began this blog on December 26, 2013 never really imaging that I could write two poems a day indefinitely. But so far, I've done pretty well. Due to inclement weather that saw us without electricity for the better part of a week, I haven't always been able to keep up the pace. And I was out of town for a few days, which created still other problems. But overall, I've generally managed to keep posting.

So far I haven't really experienced writer's block; knock on wood. There are days where one or both entries are not very good. And there have been still other days where I did manage only one poem instead of two. And a very few days (like today) when I wrote a prose entry instead of two poems.

Still and all-- I'm making it. Thank you one and all for the encouragement you provide just by reading. On the other hand, if you have comments or suggestions those would be appreciated.

Thanks again!

In the Wee Hours of the Night
In the hours just before dawn
     I hear chattering beneath my feet.
No,
     I'm not going crazy
and no
     I do not have any
          "nattering nabobs of negativism"
                hidden in the crawl space.
I simply need a cat.

Trippin'
A night trip home
    from Winchester
is one of colors and shadow.
From Winchester to Lexington
    the night sky gets brighter as I go
            changing from the stark white at
                    the 64 on-ramp
                          to pink and gray (with a tinge of blue)
                                as I cruise pass Lexington.
Once past the city lights,
       eighteen wheel trucks dwarf my Buick
            until I can pass them:
                  and keep on truckin'.
As I approach Georgetown
        the lights above and along the interstate
              look like a tangled mess
                    of over-grown Christmas lights.
Once past there though
        the night gets darker and darker
until I get to the Corinth exit
        where a glaring splash of light
             at the Marathon station
                 lets me know:
I am nearly home!

It's Kentucky
We have crazzzy weather.
       It was 60-something most of the weekend.
Yesterday dawned cold and clear.
Then it rained.
       Finally it snowed . . . .
                (an inch in an hour).
Today the snow is gone,
        but it's only 39!
So is it spring
        or is it winter?
Neither.
It's Kentucky.

Grace
Words matter
         Actions matter more
What will you do?
         Voice words of grace,
                  or give grace to others?

The "Age of Aquarius" . . . approaches

When Saturn is Aligned with Mars
No snow
No rain
Clear sky
       makes observing planets and stars
             not just possible,
                         but enjoyable.
As long as you wear a warm coat.

Dedicated to KESDA competitors, 2014

A Fly on the Wall
Bohemian Rhapsody
Floppy disc on the floor
Arranged marriage
Six Red Bulls and
               eating thirteen Monsters while
                                                 'Sleeping' on a hotel floor
I'm just saying,
Listen to this:
There's this
            memorial page . . .
Hey, its been a year
                       and it's
                            a Facebook page with
                                               1,000,000 likes
                                                       nine years from now it will still be popular
I'm 99% sure I've never killed a cat
He doesn't like what you've said
            Would you date him?
Make it look like cheese
            I made Twitter as a nine year old
                                       How old are you now?
Okay.
Bye
Do well.
You too.

Poet's Helper
A muse: an inspiration
Amuse: to be funny
An amusing muse
      might be the best muse.
Or not.

Inspired by Olympic skaters and Roxford farm

Rambling Mind
Birds: juncos, crows, goldfinches
                                                 bluebirds, cardinal....
A Little Night Music
Spring
Temperatures in the sixties?
Really?
"Send in the Clowns"
Spring is sprung
"Don't bother, they're here."
Lady bugs
Deer tracks gone from vanished snow
Spring is sprung
the grass is riz
I wonder where
the birdies is?
Where are the hummingbirds?
         Send in the birds!
                   "Don't bother, they're here."

Dr. Seuss---hope lives!

Grickle Grass
On Roxford Farm,
        near Corinth,
             the sweet smell of grickle grass still abounds
because our truffula trees grow undisturbed.

Theology

My Theology

God lives.

God made

The earth

         and all that’s here.

Because God loves me

         He sent his Son

                      to save me.

Jesus Christ

to a manger born

did die on a tree

to save me,

        and he rose from the dead

to show me another way to live.

Today

I can choose

between

The love of God

        shown by Jesus

Or the love of a world

        that will throw me away

              at the first opportunity.

55 Degrees!
It's unbelievably warm today
      55 is "balmy" in February.
Of course in July
      we'll complain about 55 degrees
as feeling "like winter."
Which it isn't.

Desert of White
Wind and rain
      have begun to change
winter's landscape.
The snow is fast disappearing.
Wind is drying out the roads
      and land and buildings.
On Thursday
      temps will be in the sixties
          and all will be ready
                 (and convinced)
that winter is finished fashioning the land.
Ah, but on Saturday
      the wind and snow are
            set to return.
Spring . . . but a mirage
      in a desert of white.

Winter's cycle
Today is beautiful
         snow on the trees--and everywhere else
          birds and animals happily on the move.
Sleet and snow and rain
         are to come in later today
and then we're back to
what is unpleasant
about winter.
Again.

Recipe for a Clean Smelling Dog
Wash off skunk odor
with a mix of
           hydrogen peroxide, baking soda
                                       and  dish washing liquid.
Scrub dog vigorously.
Dry yourself off.
(Dog will shake dry)
Dry off a second time.
Keep dog inside,
          away from skunks!
Throw extra cleaning solution away.
(If you save the solution--which is combustible--
          a new house might be required!)
Repeat as required,
         during skunk mating season.

Halligan stinks!
Bounding through the snow
our part dog
part kangaroo
came upon a skunk.
Thinking a skunk was just
another kind of puppy
Halli went barking after it.
Of course, the skunk
didn't think the pit bull
was a brown skunk
sooooooo
the skunk
let Halli
have it.
Boy, does that dog stink!

Snow Covers All
Five inches fell last night
    snow covers cars
        house
             dog house
                  barn
                      wheelbarrows
grasses,
      trees
driveway and sidewalk--everything it seems
has come to a cold white halt.
Then a bird flies by
or Hallie bounds down the drive
after an animal we never saw.
     Or  mouse tracks
or deer tracks
indicate
          that all is not as quiet
                                         as it seems.
God's world keeps moving
even when Jeanine and I
are holed up inside
                           waiting for a warmer
                                                         more hospitable day

Birdseed!
Birds fight
like basketball players
after a rebound
or a loose ball,
pushing and shoving
trying to get
what everyone else
is after:
birdseed!

Another winter snow storm. Have we moved to New England?

Headin' for Home
Barely visible through a
     swirling white mass
     that is the latest snowstorm,
the cows are gray dots
moving slowly
      through
            the field
                      up
                          the hill
toward the warmth
of a barn filled with hay.

Spring Coming
A few bits of grass
peaking out of the snow
stir in the wind;
spring can't be far off, now.

Whirligig
It is not spring
  it's the middle of winter
     but the pink and white
     be-petaled whirligig
that is an orchid in full bloom
reminds us
that though we do not live in Hawaii
a little bit of Hawaii
can live with us.
           

Come on along, come on along
 This is harder than I thought it would be. Facing an empty screen can be daunting. Sometimes, too daunting as the fact that I haven't always been able to put something down every day can indicate.

This blog was begun on December 26, 2013. My goal is to add two poems/entries a day through December 25, 2014. If the electricity doesn't go out again. Or I don't get in some catastrophic medical or personal situation, I will make it that long. I'm not particularly old (58) and I'm in pretty good health so it's not expecting too much to get to Christmas 2014. If I do make it through I should be able to make about 700 poems on this blog. That's my goal. I hope you'll come along for the ride.

Oh, yeah. If you think about it leave an encouraging comment or two to help me keep the creative juices flowing. Thanks.

Today?
On a day
when it got to 33 degrees--
       farther from zero
           than has seemed possible
                for two weeks--
the car got stuck in the driveway.
The snow turned to ice
      the ice got slick
           and I got nowhere!
Where oh where
      is spring weather?

Hope in the midst of a long winter. . .

In the midst of winter
Hope arrives
with a snow fall's end
birds at the feeder
tracks in the snow--
anything at all that shows
life goes on. 

Neighbors
Winter weather
       snow, ice, cold temperatures
               bring out the neighbors:
cardinals,
       juncos,
            sparrows
have all been seen at the feeders.
Deer, mice and even
     a skunk have been seen
 in the yard or nearby fields.
We live in a rather remote place
       until you consider how diverse
             the neighbors are.

Winter closes in on everyone . . .

Cabin Fever
Mouse tracks on snow
near our back door
indicate that even
mice get cabin fever.

Our Porch Light
Our porch light divides
Roxford
into "day"and "night."
Our porch light hides
blemishes and brightens
everything it reveals.
Oh, that the world
could be a
porch lit one.

Last night . . .

Sleep Study
Last night,
       I was studied!
Hooked up to wires and tubes,
       connected to machines and computers,
                 I looked and felt like someone's monster.
But today I am awake, aware and human.
       What will I be like when I start
                 wearing a CPAP machine to sleep in?
A nightly version of Dr. Frankenstein's monster?
I suppose that will be okay, if I sleep better.

Winter wonderland . . . .

After the storm
         ice covers everything
causing metal fences to glisten like diamonds
and leafless  tree branches,
        otherwise brown and dowdy,
                 now shimmer and glimmer
       like a bride on her wedding day.
Meanwhile, cedar trees
       are bowed over, genuflecting in awe.
Mice and bird tracks,
       unseen for days,
are back-- signs of life in a cold
      mysterious land.
And inside our house
      miraculously
the orchid has bloomed!
Will wonders never cease?
     

A winter miracle. . .

A Little Bit of Spring
Despite the snow
       and the freezing rain that
              turned off our electricity
our orchid has bloomed!
Since the flower first put out buds
        before Thanksgiving
        we have been looking for blossoms.
But only in the darkness
        and cold of February
       (in a house with no heat and no electricity for two days)
       did it bloom.
I call that a mircle:
        A little bit of spring
        in the aftermath
        of an ice storm.
Thank you.

More winter . . . when will it end?

Ice is Nice
In summer ice
in tea on a hot day.
In winter ice can be nice if one
is looking for whales in fijords.
But in Kentucky
ice
no matter how pretty
can be deadly
when it causes the heat to go off
in homes
and when it causes cars
to slide into ravines.

Ice and misery (but some extra sleep)

The weather has been absolutely awful lately. Night before last we had an ice storm and lost power at 7:30 pm or so. We were without power until sometime this morning. Jeanine and I spent last night at my Mom's house in Lexington. School was cancelled (again) in Harrison county. BCTC was put on a two hour delay. And we slept in a bit. (Actually, I slept in a lot sine I'm normally up by 6:30 am and today I didn't wake up till about 9:30 and didn't get up for another hour or so; quite a luxery, reading Reader's Digest and the Smithsonian Magazine instead of popping out of bed before first light.)

So the dog and cat are in Lexington for another night. And Jeanine and I will go back to Mom's for another night. More snow (but no ice) is on the way. My car sits at the road, a quarter mile forom the house-- still encased in ice and snow. This winter may never end.

Lost and found . . . .

Up by the road
Under a pile of snow and ice
I found my car today.

Ahhhhhh, winter!

In the quiet
After a snowfall:
                 bird tracks,
                         raccoon handprints,
                 deer tracks
                                 with dog tracks trailing.
Only the pink, blue and gray sky speaks.
         "More snow coming."

Puzzled heron for a puzzling winter

The Blue Heron
Hunched over--
a little old man
with wings--
a sullen
blue heron
stood on
Raven Creek
staring down
at ice
he could not
see through,
wanting fish he
could not find.

Desperation is about to set in

A Midwinter Prayer
Snow covers the ground
hides deer tracks
Halligan's tracks
car tracks--
      everything that walks or moves
      is still.
And yet the snow falls.
Snow plows are still.
Tractors are in run-in sheds
      or barns.
Everyone and everything
      waits for the relentlessly accumulating snow
to stop.
Just
stop.
Please.

Disappearing act, David Copperfield not required

Ghost Cabin

On a road lined with houses and trailers,

farms and businesses,

sits a single-room log cabin;

roughhewn and dating

most probably

to Daniel Boone—

Not the TV series but the one

what “kilt a bar.”

Who might have discovered the land

            on which the cabin sits?

After travelling down the Licking River,

            and then overland, following

                   valleys and Raven Creek

                        they stopped Here—
But why here?

And who stopped?

Before there were roads or houses—

much less trailers—

this cabin was.

When the surrounding forest

            was still old growth

                    and simply clearing the ground to erect

                                     any cabin would have been a long

                                                       and perhaps deadly task—

this cabin

came into being.

When was it built…

before the Commonwealth?

Who might have visited its owners?

Was it a slave cabin?

Was it a stop on the

Underground Railroad?

Did it harbor soldiers during the Civil War?

Was it a barn, a haven, or a home

during later decades?

What is its history?

What has been its life?

How many people lived here, in space

            not much more than 10 feet square—

                    often the size of a modern

                             bathroom?

Today the cabin’s nearest neighbor

            (just down the hill a bit)

is a garage—

fixing cars and trucks—

all and sundry

quite unimaginable to

those who constructed

the cabin in dense woods.

The cabin has an “addition”

that doubles its original size.

Still, today the cabin is too small to be used as

anything more than a weekend retreat

for Lexington hunters—

as a deer hung nearby

(and license plates)

this past fall attested.

Yet, at night

from my house

across the road and up a hill

when I look toward it down the firebreak

The tiny cabin vanishes—

a ghost of bygone days and dreams
        and possibilities.

Distraction

Soon
Walking into church
I was distracted
by the sounds of
honking geese.
Looking up I
saw a large number
of Canadian Geese
flying north.
On a cold February day,
this was yet another sign
that spring will come
soon.