Peonies, Iris, Cicadas
This May: peonies, iris, cicadas. And me. Next May the peonies and iris will blossom again. After this season’s flowers are gone, leaves will turn sunlight into...
Author: Mary
The Spectacled Scarlet Sparrow
This winter a friend told me that in my red-and-black winter jacket and my mask, I looked like a bird. I made up a common name for the kind of bird I am and the...
I See the Moon
I got to see the moon today. The winter has been cloudy, and I was looking forward to an evening walk under a rising and nearly full moon, but when I went out, ...
Ding Dong! Merrily on High: A Curated Experience
I didn’t know the song “Ding Dong! Merrily on High” until about 25 years ago, when I heard it at a holiday concert at my sons’ high scho...
World Music
Note: I wrote this in September 2004. I’ve been to every Lotus Festival since then; even this year, I’m watching the festival online. I thought I...
Book spine poem: Alone Time
Alone Time The stress response, The anatomy of melancholy. Home comforts. Solitude. The virtual community, the voices of silence, Where the roots reach for wate...
If Deer Used Yelp
928 Easy St.: The hostas are to die for. However, some of them have little plastic clips on them that smell vaguely of garlic. Not a big deal, but watch out so ...
Book spine poem: Reading
Reading Oh, the places you’ll go! Into the west, beyond the hundredth meridian. To the Finland station, PrairyErth, Istanbul, Alexandria, The pillars of Hercule...
Book spine poem: Lives of the Trees
Lives of the Trees Dream days beyond good and evil. Green darkness, Arcadia. Giants in the earth, Song of the sky, Plants that changed the world. Heart of the l...
Found poems: Days of Obligation and Devotion
The following were adapted from A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity: The Official Prayer Book of the Catholic Church, prepared and published b...