Writer's Block
When facing an empty
page
stare REAL hard
so that
maybe
just
maybe
the page
will magically
fill up
with
wit
wisdom
rhyme
or
something
else
that
is
just . . . .
divine!

Gravelling
Two crows wander
   up the driveway
     selecting bits of gravel
like a couple in a buffet line
choosing between crab and steak:
"Aw, heck, they both look good tonight."

Rainy Day on I-75 N
Rain falling from the sky
Rises again off blacktop
    propelled by cars and trucks
into sheets of wetness
that distort reds and yellows
and scare drivers
into driving more slowly.

Cemetery Angel

I.O.O.F. Cemetery, Corinth, KY

Footpath
Small bits of light
illuminate the path
from the porch
to the cars.

Many nights it gets
so dark here
that getting off the path
can feel like falling
off the planet.

And then She's Gone .  . .
Late at night
   I hear the sounds of galloping.
Is it the Galloping Gourmet?
   ("hedonism in a hurry,")
Or is it the Lone Ranger?
   ("...with the speed of light, a cloud of dust
        and a hearty "Hi-yo Silver!")
Closer now,
    I can see the source:
       Pinka, our cat!
And then she's
   galloping again,
      gone
 towards the other side of the house !

One Day's Weather
Yesterday was proof
    that if you don't like
        Kentucky's weather
wait five minutes.
At dawn there was a dusting of snow
   (hardly enough to know it had snowed).
By noon
   there was a snow squall
   (snow being blown around as in a hurricane)
By mid-afternoon
   there was a bit of snow of the ground
    (less than an inch).
By five o'clock
   the snow was gone
     (it was nearly forty degrees)
Today?
   who knows-- we might be living with Florida weather
      (balmy and 70 degrees)

Instant Blizzard

Just when I was thinking, "Oh, how nice--the sun is out. I should go open the front door to warm up the living room..." a black cloud rolled in and THIS happened. Instant blizzard!

       A Sign of Spring      
       Today's snow fall
    amounted to little more
        than the dandruff'
God's wife brushed from his
    broad shoulders as he
        walked in the door
           after a hard day
               last night.

Fire Lanes
Following  long lines
   of vehicles at night
up I-75,
   even at nearly 80,
is like following a series of
moving fires
    each ready to consume you
        if you touch it.

Early Morning Shock
I walked out the door,
       stepped onto the porch
and was embraced by a blast
       of very cold air!
Where has spring gone?
Where are the spring rains
       that herald the return of gardening
      flowers and summer crops?
Still in Florida
      with the rest of the snow birds?

How Now, Red Cow?

Soon it will be time for thunderstorms instead of snowstorms.

Hay Roll

Silent Treatment
Edging between Jeanine
and the wall
Halligan jumped out the window--
alright, it wasn't far,
ours is only a one story house.
Still, what could make her
     make such a leap into a black night
         without waiting to be let out the door?
The quest,
 it turned out later,
was possum stew...
or perhaps a field mouse
pick me up.
Whatever it was,
     when she returned
Halligan said not a word about it.

Watch Dog
The St. Bernard
    lay in shows next to an old tobacco barn.
As we approached she eyed us warily.
    As our car passed her
        she stood up and walked into the middle of the road.
Long she watched us
    to make sure we weren't returning
Then she went back and lay down in the shade,
   to await the next car.

Over the Wall and Far Away

Over the wall in an old cemetery in Renaker, Harrison County, Kentucky

If Wishes were Fishes
In my mind
I am
young
and handsome.

In reality,
I am
graying and overweight.

Oh that I might be
a bit younger
and that there were
a whole
lot
less

o
f

m
e
.

Bird-Feeder Bandit
It was quite a surprise--
    working at the computer
        less than five feet from the bird-feeder,
just outside the window,
Jeanine heard a strange sound.
Looking to her left
    she saw a raccoon--black eyed bandit
had shimmied up the pole that held
the birdfeeder
and was raiding the "icebox."
A bit later, in an act of vengence,
Hallie was put outside
to use the facilities before bed,
and off she sprinted hot on the trail of
our bird-feeder bandit.

Omen
Rain is coming down
  sideways-- and every other direction--
     so that soon flowers may bloom
and crops may grow.

Train Whistle
Lying in bed
I hear the long lonely sound of a train's whistle.
   And though it makes me feel isolated and alone,
        the sound also gives me
an unexplainable connectedness to places
unseen and unknown.

Parade
The hawk
   remained by the side of the road
      keeping watch over its kill
as Jeanine and I approached in our gold Le Sabre.
He kept his eyes alert
   as with every crunch of the tires we got closer.
When we were stopped
   not five feet from him
      I could see my image reflected in his eyes.
And still he stood at attention,
    watching as we drove away,
       the last float of a boring parade.

Childhood Lessons
Bozo the Clown
was interrupted
by Walter Cronkite:
      The President is dead.
My classmates and I
were eight years old
and soon to understand that
        childhood doesn't last forever.
Less than five years later,
after a night of swimming at
the YMCA with fellow
Boy Scouts
I learned that a
bigot with a gun could
         kill a Dreamer
                (but not his dream).
And then just scant weeks later,
on a Saturday morning,
instead of watching cartoons
I would hear endlessly
"Now lets go on to
Chicago and win there"
only to see
replays of confusion
and shots fired
in a kitchen
and learn that
Rosie Greer had a
life after football.
In 1968
"Tricky Dick" Nixon
won election as president
and became an exemplar of
the importance of peristenace
before,
in 1974,
becoming a pestilance
due to the 
Watergate Hearings
that revealed him to
have plumbers on his payroll
and paranoia
in his mind.
Leading to one
final lesson:
no one,
not even a president,
is above the law.

Wobbly King of a Very Small Hill
A brown and white calf
stood atop
the remains of a hay bale
on wobbly legs
hoping that a wisp
of wind didn't send it sprawling

Snow Day
I cannot help
    but look out on new snow
        with memories and dread and wistfulness.
Memories of a childhood
     of swooshing down hills,
         around curves
            and under fences
                   on a Flexible Flyer
followed by warming cups of hot chocolate
      and conversations reliving it all.
Today
    snow brings dread
       of slippery roads
            and other drivers
who may not apply their brakes
   soon enough to avoid me.
But mostly snow in the driveway
    along streets and hills
makes me wish I were 10 again
   not yet worried about idiots in cars.

A winter poem

Snow Designs
No
two
are
alike
on
windows,
just
as
no
two
snow
flakes
are.

Snow Storm

Snow Storm

Beneath the bird feeder

           A white throated sparrow

                    hunkers down.

                            Protected by a large stone

               juncos hop over her

                   seeking sunflower seeds before they are hidden beneath snow.

Meanwhile, cattle and horses,

        covered by snow blankets,

              lazily munch on round hay bale remnants.

Shine on, Shine on . . . .
When I got up
    very early this morning
the moon was still up,
    still round and full and orange!
As I drove towards Corinth
    the moon "bounced" as if it were
         a dot bouncing to music in
an old cartoon.

No Indication
The grayness that
     pervades
the hours before dawn
    is often no indication
of the day to come.

Time to set mousetraps, since the cat isn't doing her job. Freeloader.

Picky Eater
While her fellows
     seemingly eat every available seed
           one goldfinch
reaches in, pulls out
     and throws to the ground
           every seed she finds.
If she was looking for the
     'perfect' seed,
it was apparently not to be found
     in our feeder
for she flew off, even as I watched.

Lady Bugs
crawling up the shower curtain
flitting window pane to window pane
(in every room of the house)
in winter's waning days
are as much a nuisance in the house
as they are a delight
to find outside,
          later in the year.

Wasp Nests
Orange flames
     lick at the edges of the papers
         turning them black
             and unreadable.
Meanwhile, the wasp nests
     settled in the midst of the papers
remain unblackened and unburned.

Extra Innings?
Rain all day today
    amid falling temperatures
means snow tonight.
Eight days from spring
     it feels as though
         winter will go into
extra innings.

Mackerel Sky

"Mackerel sky, snow close by" was one of my dad's sayings, and probably needs an explanation. The type of clouds in the photo (untinkered-with, by the way--this is exactly what the sky looked like over the house) herald a change in the weather. I say the saying comes from the sky's resemblance to the grain of a filet of mackerel (fish); Bill thinks there's no resemblance. But anyway, in winter the sky like this means a weather front is moving in and (in New England, anyway) it is likely to snow in the next one to three days. On the other hand the sky can look like this in July, in which case the saying would probably go "mackerel sky, stand by for change."

Dad's version was better.

Jeanine

Dawn
Mud room light off,
I open the back door
and step into brightness
that illuminates the diminishing darkness
of  a new dawn.

Chaos Before Class: Conversations
In the midst of nothing at all,
     everything seems to happen:
the car broke down on the way to work
Your mom's ill.
Flu?
Yeah.
Picking up dinner on the way home?
I guess.
How many students were in class?
Most of 'em; it was a good class today
Mr. McCann?
Yes?
I was absent Wednesday.
Yes?
What did I miss?
Why were you absent?
Long winded explanation:
       Really? Well, turn in your assignment.
       I need to finish my call.
Thank you.
Hello?
The dog got 'skunked' again!
Really
Can you pick up both peroxide and Dawn?
Yeah.
A check bounced.
Really?
Yup. For the lack of 12 cents.
$35?
You got it.
Gotta go, class starts in five minutes.
Love you.
Gotta go; love you, too

Stars and Planets
Walking down the porch stairs this morning
      I see the last of the night sky:
an intense dark blue
      with stars and planets visible above.
Driving south towards
       Lexington the sky warms
to pale blue with shades of pink and gray.
Making the turn towards
       Winchester the sky is dominated
by a sun that blinds me:
the stars and planets now invisible
till night comes again.
        
                   

It's hard to believe, looking at the greys and beiges of early March, that THIS is right around the corner, but it is. Mmmmm...thunderstorms! Mowing lawns! Pollen! Also, flowers, ripe tomatoes, bare feet, and swimming pools...and don't complain about being hot, until at least August.  Promise.

God's Time
Many people believe in the inerrancy of the Bible,
        "God said it, I believe it, that settles it."
In Genesis the Bible says that God created day and night
        and "it was good."
So tell me how it is that we tamper with God's time?
We call it "Daylights Savings Time"
       and claim that it makes children safer
       and businesses more profitable.
Is God not capable of making those things possible?
So tell me again,
      why do we have Daylights Savings Time?

For Miles Along I-75
It's early March
      the grass is dry, brown and dead
            for miles in all directions
the trees are brownish gray and lifeless
      from this distance
the 'evergreens' seem to be on life support
     and even the sky is gray and dull.
Ah, but this is March:
     soon the rains will come
           and then everything will green right up
                causing one and all who travel the interstates
                     to know exactly why this is called
the "Bluegrass State."

Overthinking
Thinking too much
    about the obvious: my hair is going grey (because I'm getting older)
Thinking too hard about
    the ridiculous: the Kardashians or Duck Dynasty
Thinking too much
    because I can't fall asleep
Thinking too much
    because I am asleep (it's called dreaming)
Now, if I could just dream up a way
    to get rid of my grey hair,
    forget the Kardashians' appearance on Duck Dynasty
    and fall back asleep!

The Last of Winter
Out tromping through the woods
               below our house
                              we saw the first signs of spring:
snow melt water falls trickling through

              leaves and mud and then down the hill
trees are beginning to bud;
days are warmer.
Soon spring be here
               and we'll yearn for something else.
           

Moon in Dead Tree

When I first got started taking photographs, what inspired me were odd things that would catch my eye around the place. Without a camera I would look and look, wishing to capture it in my memory; but then I couldn't share my visions. Now I can show you what I see.

Like this--the moon hangs like a white orb spider in her invisible web spun between the branches of this dead tree.

I don't fiddle with filters and special effects, because what happens naturally is amazing enough to me. Beautiful world we live in...what a gift.

Jeanine

Out in the Country
Along narrow roads
   near creeks, barns and houses
        within sight of cats and cattle,
             deer, possums, dogs and squirrels
sit all manner of and types of businesses:
Auctioneers
    (sell what mom and dad accumulated over a lifetime)
Bars and restaurants
    (usually in the same establishment)
Bed and breakfasts
    (to avoid hearing the in-laws snore)
Bowling alleys
    (keep teens and trouble separated)
Car lots
    (where folks get a car after theirs no longer runs)
Cemeteries
    (where mom and dad reside for eternity)
Churches
    (give comfort to the living and say words over the dead)
Farms
    (the business, or at least the hobby, of most)
Fire departments
    (run by volunteers to keep people and property safe)
Garages
    (help keep vehicles running as long as possible)
Gas stations
    (keep cars and trucks and tractors running)
Junk yards
    (where cars and trucks and tractors go when they no longer run)
Salons
    (where a gal can get her roots touched up)
Skating rinks
    (see "Bowling alleys," above)
Not seen at all in our community?
    A mall--and that's the truth, Y'all
Life in the country is
    stretched out
         and perhaps inconvenient.
But few would trade our country ways
    for nightly traffic jams
         and the time required to get home
              to a tiny patch of green
That is the suburban nightmare.

Another Day
First thing each morning
I clear my eyes
look out the window
at the beauty before me
and thank God for another day.

Sunflower

Sunflower

Once taller than our house,

forever facing down its namesake,

it now sits in pieces in a wooden bowl

awaiting spring.

Writers Block
What can I say?
What should I write about?
Ducks?
Dogs?
Frogs?
Snow?
Gosh, I don't know.
I guess that's why they call it Writer's Block.
Driving?
Conniving?
Conniving, what?
There you go, again.
What are you talking about?
You can't find ANYTHING to write about?
Not yet.
Well, how about . . . .?
Yes? I'm waiting.
Drum roll please.
Jeeze. Enough already!
Alright then: Writer's Block?

Pictures are Now in the Mix!
After doing this blog alone for just over two months, Jeanine Lister is joining me. Jeanine is a wonderful photographer who has agreed to post some of her photos here on the Country Traffic Jam blog. One of her wonderful compositions is below; the others will require some hunting. (Hint: Check out Buick Winter -- posted January 6th--for Bill's favorite. Jeanine's favorite is below.) There will not be pictures with every poem, but there will certainly be many. So go back through the previous posts and look for pictures. Some were posted tonight, others will be posted in days to come.

Jeanine owns the copyright to all of her photos; Bill owns the copyright to all of the poems. All rights are reserved to the author and the photographer.

Where is Opportunity?
Moscow?
Paris?
Baghdad?
Independence?
Alexandria?
Versailles?
London?
Boston?
New Haven?
Yes, to all.
And all are in Kentucky!

Coming Soon
As my car crawls ever
      so slowly on snow covered roads
            towards the interstate
                  so spring is crawling ever so slowly
                           towards Roxford.

Carnac the Magnificent
Turban bedecked Johnny Carson
     used to give answers to questions
          "hermetically sealed in a mayonnaise jar."
Today I woke up
      in a very cold house
         with doors that had been iced shut by the previous night's frozen rain.
Yet, having experienced what it was like to be "hermetically sealed in"
      I still did not have answers to life's questions.
Ah, where 'ave ye gone, Johnny?

Winter Recipe
A little rain
   add a freezing temperature
       and it turns to snow.
When that snow piles up in forests
           and fields it is often
                    "spectacular," "beautiful,"
                             and even "amazing."
But when snow covers Kentucky roads
            the results are:
                                  School is cancelled
                                             businesses closed
                                               Empty grocery store shelves
                                                           whiny  kids  (and adults who pray for spring)
                                                                   even as:
   "seven car pile up near Louisville--details soon." 

Clothesline
Ice hangs in small sheets
     and frozen drops
          on the clothes line
               outside our  backdoor.
Except that instead of drying
 these sheets will  simply melt and fade away.

              

Reflections
Poets are found in the strangest places.
For instance,
I'd never have guessed that
moving to Corinth
would turn on my
Poetry gene;
or, that
a combine
basketbal
god,
deer,
beer bottles,
and graveyards
would be subjects of
my poetry.
Weird.
Very weird.
Watch out:
you might be next!

Here Comes Winter, Again!
The weather report says that we are to get four to eight inches of snow. Plus we can anticipate up to 1/2 an inch of ice. IF we get ice-- we will almost certainly power, again. Last time we were without power from Tuesday evening until Friday afternoon. So, Jeanine and I are hoping for snow-- we REALLY do not want to be without power (and internet) for a nearly a week. If we do lose power, please keep checking the blog knowing that as soon as I can get back on, I'll begin posting again. Meanwhile, keep the faith: MAYBE it will all pass us by. NOT!

Bible Believing Dog ?
Haligan found the jaw bone of an ass.
Not really of course--
it was
(when we could actually look at it)
a cow's jaw.

Sleep
Some nights
    I fall asleep.
Some nights
    I read
            or think
                  or think about sleeping.
But always I have to get up
                   and face a new day.