December 31, 2018

a hot bath designed
to cancel out my fever
New Year’s Eve cocoon




wondering what changed
as the rain starts up again —
New Year’s Eve

December 30, 2018

gaps in the wren’s song
the first day I’ve forgotten
to think of him


December 29, 2018

a sweet memory
of deciding to kiss her
the night’s first bright star


December 28, 2018

blown-out candle smoke
missing my father
on my birthday


December 27, 2018

take off your glasses
come look at the tree with me
planetary pull



December 26, 2018

words kicking in
just in time to be sung
oldies station


December 25, 2018

Christmas night
we plan our walk to include
the brightest lights


December 24, 2018

she uses her cane
in public for the first time
waxing gibbous moon


(In honor of this post by @rikkipoynter.)

December 23, 2018

three stags
standing at the edge of town
all antlers and pride


I walk into night
with my back to the moon
shadows and longing


December 21, 2018

so full and bright
we can almost see spring
Winter Solstice moon


December 20, 2018

where the rain was
a breeze that shakes the branches
shine and shimmer


December 19, 2018

this small sharp breath
just the sound of me
thinking I saw you



December 18, 2018

sweet indulgence
I comb your hair
with my fingers


December 17, 2018

dark days, darker nights
sun a longed-for memory
a sparrow’s three notes



December 16, 2018

the rain finds our skin
ducks with their busy legs
stirring thoughts of ice


December 15, 2018

overcast weekend
leaning against each other
cut trees still waiting


December 14, 2018

tonight’s wind
reading the trees for answers
mid-December dark


December 13, 2018

remembering
how red those berries looked
in snow last year



December 12, 2018

with the wind laid down
the cold seemed somehow less so
still, she took my arm


December 11, 2018

winter hikes were best
reveling in contrast
cocoa in the cold




December 10, 2018

two blue jays
trading places in a tree
my mother fills his glass


December 09, 2018

pine needles poking
ice melting into his drink
Christmas depression


December 08, 2018

every day
the holly berries catch
a little less light


December 07, 2018

with his clothes gone
the house seems even quieter
snow falling on snow


December 06, 2018

at last you return
one more layer
to wrap myself in


December 05, 2018

advent season
carols I learned as a child
return to visit


December 04, 2018

starlight through branches
playing a harmonic note
just barely touching


December 03, 2018

blown-out milkweed pods —
white wisps so close to nothing
I have to touch twice...


December 02, 2018

weary from the start
early morning light revealing
my father’s death again


December 01, 2018

frost in the forecast
our Christmas card list
shorter again this year


November 30, 2018

branches full of birds
sleeping in the rain again
we all dream of sun


November 29, 2018

driving, blinding snow
worried at not knowing
where my love has gone


November 28, 2018

walking into wind
feeling myself a vessel
a train whistle chimes in


November 27, 2018

the wind kicks up,
leaves swirling like stirred soup
I call my mother


November 26, 2018

cold November day
a chickadee with ruffled cap
looking overslept


November 25, 2018

how thrilling to see
an exhausted, storm-tossed bird
take wing again!


November 24, 2018

rain following rain
I imagine the meadow
drinking it all in


November 23, 2018

birds on branches
looking two sizes bigger
fluffed to fight the cold


November 22, 2018



the last few leaves
surprised by the morning sun
I hold on, too

November 21, 2018

like a dream
I only half-remember
our last conversation


November 20, 2018

deep diving through
the shipwreck of your life
guessing what went where


November 19, 2018

in trees and bushes
awaiting certain snow —
small birds and silence


November 18, 2018

drowsy in the cold
sleep around the next corner
the stinkbug stumbles


November 17, 2018

we talk, miles apart,
to build a common space
my frost, your moonlight


November 16, 2018

our long pilgrimage
so much time spent arguing
over what to bring


November 15, 2018

sudden snowstorm
we follow behind the plow
as it scrapes and sparks



November 14, 2018

let her be tired
but with a spring in her step
blushing at my name


November 13, 2018

the old fights flare up
with only the angles changed
ice glints in your glass


November 12, 2018

high overhead
a hawk rests in an updraft
my father’s still gone


November 11, 2018

fever dream
you are disappointed
and the stars grow cold


November 10, 2018

meeting at last
you stop to show me the moon
all shadow and light


November 09, 2018

thick dark clouds stacked up
like planes waiting to land —
losing my father



November 08, 2018

testing its pull,
the fox hesitates, looks back —
long November nights