My Secret Summer Dreams

            1.
I lie in the shade
Of pur­ple plum trees
Listening to car­di­nal music

            2.
Behind these shades
I watch the turvy world go by
And it can­not see me

            3.
Buffy, my daugh­ters’ dog,
Tries to hide under my lawn chair—
With chick­en bones

            4.
Two yel­low but­ter­flies
Do a sil­ly dance over columbine
Then set­tle down to drink

            5.
A hun­dred mil­lion leaves of grass
            died
To make room for my sum­mer garden

            6.
Pepperweed and Queen Anne’s Lace
Poke up between the rows
Where is the rain?

            7.
White sun burn­ing
Mid day silence
Wilting toma­to vines

            8.
Our green tea
In two jade cups
Getting cold

            9.
I watch my Weeping Willow tree
Its branch­es Waving in the Wind
As it bends
            to save itself
Many leaves go fly­ing to an ear­ly death

            10.
A light sum­mer rain
Splashes against the win­dow
While we watch robins play

            11.
Pink impa­tiens petals
Litter the ground
Like old dreams

            12.
Morning thun­der­storm
Lovers lie in bed
Puppy sniffs her emp­ty bowl

            13.
Green toma­to vines
Standing in lines
In wet loamy earth
Remind us of birth

            14.
My rot­ting wood­pile,
Home to a timid field mouse,
Covers a world he nev­er sees

            15.
I wrote our names in wet cement
They are there still
But she’s been gone forever

            16.
Catnapping on the back porch
Easy breezes
And laven­der dreams

            17.
Standing there in the dark­ness
I look for Orion
            in the wrong place
            at the wrong time
Rigel sleeps

            18.
Dried flow­ers
Have lost their scent
And more
            19.
He twists his base­ball cap
And stares at the floor
Away from the bro­ken win­dow
            20.
While cook­ing
I crum­ble a bay leaf between my fin­gers
Just for the smell

            21.
My nights they are nicht
            and mor­ney
But my days are all fel­low
            and spice

            22.
A box of bro­ken crayons
Naked baby dolls
Tattered sto­ry­books
And oth­er sweet memories

            23.
I won­der why I said those things
            It must have been the wine talk­ing
Hope I get a chance to explain

            24.
She hur­ries across the dusty mead­ow
ignor­ing the killdeer’s cries

            25.
Watermelon
On my chin
Feels tastes good