my upstairs pillow
and my downstairs pie —
worthy opponents

I keep looking for
friends who have gone on ahead —
winter’s chill

our first kitchen —

how we loved bumping

into each other!

along the edges

those we didn’t mean to kill —

Route 27

disobedience —

he looks over at me

as he licks the knife

hitching rides

on the last warm day —

ladybugs

November heat wave —

all up and down the street,

birds shocked into song

tracing the news -

the lake is safe for skating!

as doors fly open

hard-to-reach places —

she thinks of her mother

polishing silver

late November —

our house heat not quite reaching

the tip of my nose

bedtime resistance —

his last-minute questions

a foot in the door

for just a moment —

lost in the kingdom

of frost

last night’s rain

slowly working its way down —

how I still miss you!

holiday season —

I review my notes from

last year’s Thanksgiving

sleet changing to rain —

the in-laws take careful turns

holding the baby

crossing this river

for the first time —

she takes my hand

the sun in my mind

still bouncing off the lake

long hours later

new weather report —

faces tilted up to feel

the snow coming down

ready for bed —

she puts the really loud watch

in a drawer

hole in the page

where you tried to erase —

battle memories

(For all those we have asked to fight on our behalf.)

cursing the driver

who brakes to a sudden stop —

until I see deer

cloud darkened days  —

trading stories of divorce 

we shiver a bit

how did you know?

we smile, happy to answer

one more time

the one red tree

in a hillside blazing gold —

goodnight, Catherine



(for Catherine Perry, member, Princeton Friends Meeting)

drawer full of keys,

no idea which lock they’re for —

how we hold on!

speed bump —

she takes his hand

off her knee

all day

the wind ruffling the world —

even the lake

wishing his family

could be in the mourners’ line

to hear those stories

(For D.I. and his family)

pinned by the wind —

the hawk overhead

seems not to move

her just-swept walk

covered in leaves again —

she starts over