ENCOUNTER
We dip our paddles stealthily.
The heron eyes us warily.
Too young to have acquired fear,
He wonders why we have come here.
Water lilies are his rug.
He elegantly gives a shrug
And makes his graceful ballet jete
To move away some fifteen feet,
Then settles down to keep a watch
On strange intruders drifting past.
We paddle onward carefully,
Happy this water nymph to see.
EARTHLY DELIGHTS
Those who have waked to the loon’s querulous cries
And listened to the wind in the white pines sigh,
Watched the gray fox walk his casual way
And moose shake the water weeds out of the lake,
Startled wild turkeys into sheltering trees,
Waited for the bear and her cubs to leave,
Lain in the field to applaud the borealis,
Savored the syrup of Northeast sugar maples,
Chatted with the chittering young porcupines,
Admired beaver families’ dam designs,
These happy few have enjoyed our earth’s delights:
They will exit smiling into the infinite night.
(July 2014)
WISH YOU WERE HERE
I’ve gotten used to
The empty chair,
The unwrinkled pillow,
And one place at the table
Without you,
But how can I watch
The moon tangled in black branches,
The sun rise over Carter Notch,
Or the first flakes of new snowfall
Without you?
SMOKE GETS IN MY EYES
How many campfires did you lay,
Birchbark, twigs and slender sticks,
To tempt the creeping tongue of flame
And feed its fiery appetite?
You learned to build the pyramid
With tinder arching over bark:
A single match would serve to wick
The pyre construed with boy scout art.
How many trees did you cut down
And split and stack for winter fuel
In the Franklin stove that kept us warm
And gave us cheerful hearts as well?
Now as I feed my grandson’s blaze
Constructed with his sage advice,
I think of your consistent ways
And feel the smoke tear up my eyes.
(July 2014)
THE MATING GAME
Two people in a chess match:
One sets forth a cautious pawn.
The other counters her halfway.
They both look for another play.
Perhaps the bishop should approach
The queen quite deferentially,
Or a bold knight might gallop forth
To look for opportunity.
One good turn deserves another:
Pieces freely are exchanged,
Adversaries overtaken,
For the climax, clear the board.
Finally the king stands naked.
Queenie has him in her sights.
He will finally be mated.
She will claim her sovereign rights.