I used to climb on fences
On countertop and tree
Could never understand why grownups
Worried so at me
I knew I was in balance
Where my body was in space
Today I felt that same concern
Show up on my own face

I want to toss some bottles

And smash them in the street

I want to shout obscenities

At everyone I meet

I want to tear my calendar

To teeny tiny shreds

And rip my purple foxgloves

From their wooden flower beds

Instead I grab the loppers

And the feelings inside me

And snap the errant branches

From our unsuspecting tree

With jelly smeared on hands and face

She must be first in every race

Making jokes about the potty

By turns she’s fearful, mad, and haughty

Opens freezer, reaches in

Grabs three sweets treat with a grin

Waves them in my face with glee

Takes a bite ‘You can’t stop me!’

No one ever told me

It was gonna be this bad

If they did, I didn’t listen

And I can’t say that I’m glad

They told me I was talented

They told me I was smart

They said I could be anything

I wanted in my heart

But health, like that naivete

Has vanished with my youth

And pain, fatigue, and fogginess

Are now my living truth

SUMMER SOLSTICE 2023

My sinuses are swollen

Pollen pools in yellow piles

Thus I take this Solstice Day

And clean out my old files

As we pass through this longest day

And shortest summer night

I toss out that which I don’t need

And start the season right

Squeals and shouts and joyful sounds

Echo through the park

The sun’s been down an hour

But they don’t mind the dark

They only speak a few words

Of each other’s mother tongue

But they can speak the universal

Language of the young

Last night I had a dream

With no anxiety or fright

I wasn’t naked on a stage

Or lost out late at night

I wasn’t tardy for a test

Or unprepared for class

I simply slipped my shoes off

And danced barefoot in the grass

Sarah has her father’s eyes

I think we can agree

Sensitivity of skin and heart

She likely got from me

The striking red-gold auburn hair

My mother’s side for sure

But that tenacious stubbornness

Have we see that before?

I plan to pack for sunshine

And for thunderstorms and rain

For walking in the city

And for sitting on the plane

I can make lists and piles and plans

‘Til I am overwrought

But there’ll be something I don’t need

And something I forgot