Winter Parking Lot

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #42 - Winter Parking Lot



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Winter Parking Lot
Glazed with ice, then powdered with sugar snows,
cars in the parking lot sit on the concrete, in neat rows
as if they were fresh doughnuts, all on a tray
in God's bakery window display.

Between Here and There

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #41 - Between Here and There



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Between Here and There

They got off on the wrong foot
Pushing buttons, yanking chains
Grabbing attention, claiming ground
Measuring losses, comparing gains

He stroked his beard
She ran her fingers through her hair
Not caring about the other
Because the distance was so great
Between here and there

But thoughts of him filled her fantasies
With each action, an opposite and equal reaction
He, very much impressed by her
Between them, a mutual magnetic attraction

He stroked his beard
She ran her fingers through her hair
But the distance was overwhelming
Between here and there

They didn't always agree
They made each other think
They began sharing songs, poems, dreams
Much laughter, and once in a while, a wink

He stroked his beard
She ran her fingers through her hair
Was it really, really THAT far?
Between here and there?

She imagined how things might be
If they weren't already the way that they are
If time and circumstance hadn't filled the pages
Would the distance be so far?

If only dreams were allowed to just be
No resulting consequences to pay
No expectations to meet, no judgments to fear,
No preconceived notions to get in the way

Would fate, then, allow them to meet?
To bridge the gap of time and space
To be together, to share the joy
Of seeing the smile on the other's face?

She stroked his beard
He ran his fingers through her hair
There was no longer any distance
Between here and there

Yellow River

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #40 - Yellow River

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Yellow River

Leaves rained down for days
until the front yard was flooded
drenched in color by a yellow river
from the thunder cloud trees above

With each gust of wind
more leaves lapped at the edges
of the flower beds and porch steps
Frothy yellow waves billowed about

Squirrels and little dogs
first waded and then swam across it
struggling not to drown
not to be pulled under in the eddying swirls

A rake parted the river
like the raised rod of Moses
channeling the leaves
down to the street

The curbs of the street,
breaker walls,
strain now to hold back the leaves

The wind persists
sending them back
in yellow waves
over the top
over the top
over the top
of the too small concrete dam

Saying Goodbye To the October Sky

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #39 - Saying Goodbye To the October Sky




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Saying Goodbye to the October Sky

It's almost time
to say goodbye
to the clouds
of the October skies.

Baskets of apples
piled high
Pumpkins carved
with triangle eyes

Witches and monsters
and ghosts saying boo
Leaves and rakes,
bats and spiders too

Sacks full of acorns
Shadows crossing the floor
trick or treat candy corns
a purple bowl by the door

Cornucopia of colors,
so much to see
from the fruits of the harvest
to the leaves in a tree

It's almost time
to say goodbye
to the clouds
of the October sky.

Sunday Morning Pancakes

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #38 - Sunday Morning Pancakes




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Sunday Morning Pancakes

no jangling alarm clocks

church not till 10
plenty of time for rising

sunlight filters through white curtains
all is still and quiet

stretching while in bed
slowly sitting up
easing out of covers
into robe and slippers
gently entering the day

hold the handrail
going down

morning knees
complain about the stairs
creaking with each step

poodle dog at the bottom
waiting patiently
wags his tail
leads me to the door

cool air swirls in
as he slips out

air smelling fresh
embraces me

dog comes back in
goes back to his bed

I pad to the kitchen alone

a bowl with flour, eggs, milk, oil
on the counter
me stirring
thinking
wondering
waiting

waiting for the skillet to heat

waiting for the others

still no noise
save the scraping of the spoon
against the side of the bowl

batter poured in neat circles
bubbling
time to flip
golden brown

butter and syrup
plates and forks
at the ready

stirring of a different sort
begins in other rooms

sleepy faces appear
the others shuffle in

slow smiles
gentle hugs

"mornin', Mom"

pouring milk
orange juice
cup of tea

chairs pulled up to the table

sharing the peace
sharing a prayer


sharing the joy
of
Sunday morning pancakes

Concert From the Lily Pads

Gabcast! Dancing With Daisy #37 - Concert From the Lily Pads



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This poem was inspired by some beautiful photos of lily pads that I saw recently.

Concert From the Lily Pads

On warm summer evenings,
backyard bullfrogs sit on their lily pad patios
under jutting flower umbrellas
in bright colors of purple and pink.


They dine on moths, lightning bugs, and dragonflies,
visit with their neighbors,
and watch the pollywogs play a darting game of tag.


As the sun goes down and twilight creeps in,
the backyard bullfrogs tune up and settle in,
croaking and crooning in rhythmic cadence.
Crickets and katydids join in the chorus.


They perform a concert of contentment
in the spotlight of the moon.
Angel fans gather in the concert hall skies
and light the stars,
holding them up high
in appreciation of the music.


A peaceful calm settles over the pond
where the backyard bullfrogs
sit and sing under flower umbrellas
on their lily pad patios.


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Just in case there is someone reading this who has never heard the song of a bullfrog, here's a sample of what it sounds like.