Category Archives: Uncategorized

(for Deborah Meltvedt—happy birthday!) ••• They keep coming back,the ones we thought vanished— the persistent tiny violas,the Johnny Jump-Ups, the hollyhocks—which,after the flowers wilt to folded umbrellas, muchas they started—we cut within an inch of the earthfrom which they rose. … Continue reading →

Michael Collins kept the bus idlingwhile the two other astronauts gotto walk on the moon, and though Collins said he didn’t mind,as much as the world focused onArmstrong and Aldrin stamping the moon forever with theirEarthling footprints, I, about toturn … Continue reading →

Once a dozen oaks lived on this thirdof an acre. Only four survive, the otherswatered to death in favor of grassfor little girls to play on. My parents had no idea that theywere killing the great valley oaks—quercus lobata—including my … Continue reading →

She steps carefullyinto the pool, dons hermask and snorkel, makes her way to her lane,puts her head down and doesnot lift it for 30 minutes, as I, in the next lane, breaststroke and scull headfirst,then feetfirst, overarm it into a … Continue reading →

Well, 😈🔥!How did we survive beforewe could communicate withteeny illustrations, beforethe word “emoticon” enteredour vocabularies, along with💜😵‍💫💋👩‍🦱🐱🦆✏️🎯🍅☀️? Back in our day, kids,we old folks had to make dowith only the symbols on a typewriter(for which, sadly, there is no emoji)keyboard … Continue reading →

Little soft animal of your bodyresting after the flight from danger,dented and dinged in unseen ways, I pick up your trembling formfrom the hiding place you foundin the neighbor’s sheltering greenery, cuddle you, whisper, You’re safe,I’m here, I’m so sorry … Continue reading →

If one can request such things,in my next incarnation as a human(if I may be so presumptuous),please make me a morning person. This world is geared to mornings,for better or worse, and for those of uswho aren’t really conscious till … Continue reading →

(for Bryn) If only you could remember whereyou dropped those coins on the paththat led you here, you’d scuff your way back throughall manner of leaf duff and detritusto find the once-gleaming discs, pick them up, wipe them offand head … Continue reading →

Hose in hand, early eveningwatering the feast of greenery my garden goddess neighborhas coaxed into fullness along the driveway, when I seea slender, lime green insect hightail it up the vertical blackpost. I belay the shower, peer closely at the … Continue reading →

(For the conservation team of toad-raisers at the San Francisco Zoo) With faces that perhaps only other toadscould love, 118 Yosemite toads recentlyhopped into a remote meadow where their ancestors once thrived—each settleroutfitted with a nifty amphibian antennasnugly attached. Their … Continue reading →