untranslatable —

the spirit of happy welcome

that comes with osiyo

sweet corn season —
happy for the trouble
of peeling back silk

seeking safety —
sparrows checking overhead
in between sips

oaks full of acorns 
just starting to think
about letting go

sitting still
while the river rushes on
as if I have a say

the baby yawns —
we let ourselves remember
how tired we are, too

local flooding —
a bumblebee pulls itself
to the puddle's edge

crickets calls
in between folk songs —
late summer concert

crickets calls
in between folk songs —
late summer concert

skinned knee

taking me all the way back

to third grade

 

the wind kicks up
a memory of my father
trimming our boat's sails

knowing as I fell
that I could roll into it
that it could have been worse

full moon here with me
somehow the same moon that pulls
far away you

carried to shore
by a wave I never saw —
sand still in my scalp

Disneyland all day —
permission to be a kid
shining from every face

Brazilian steakhouse —
so much meat we didn't
even have dessert

willets gliding in
wings flashing white in descent —
the last time today

we warn the fox
to stay off the road
right before it crosses

fledglings tuckered out
from a long day of learning
how their songs go

we will not dry these,
make tea from them, or a poultice —
they're just for today

filling our small home
with the smell of baking bread —
a day well begun

find yourself 
a three year-old who will run
right into your arms

(for E.E.)

old trees in decline  —
each day between the branches
we see more sky

another storm
another limb —
the old tree lets go

pulling our flag
back down off the roof —
hurricane season

walking home at night —
I wait under the linden
until my eyes adjust

we sleep in again
and let the grass grow long —
holding onto summer

the fox slips away —
almost immediately 
we doubt our own eyes

edges curling in —
evidence of the heat wave
in these yellow leaves

closing my eyes
to better hear hooves drumming
on the polo grounds

dolphins and surfers
breaking free of the ocean
just to dive back in

hot days stretched out
so far they can't hold their shape —
we sit stuck to the couch