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Collected Poetry
(rd king dot net)poetry and digital art
The Big Picture
Groups of short poems.
A Wet December
1: Clouds An emu in the horse pasture with some unsheared sheep, llamas. Gray, stratocumulus light—orange foliage here, there, while going to select the Christmas tree. 2: Clearing The afternoon warmed; the sky clearing—broad vistas from the slopes of the ambling tree farm. A difficult hunt, an easy cut—then quite a bit of tax wrought upon the tree. 3: By Jingo On the bumper of a septic truck, American flag decal. Clouds drifting against the familiar ridge like a turban. A not quite removed motto on the Post Office brick wall: foresee yourself. 4: Merry Nights Stepping outside, bare-footed, for firewood I pause to enjoy the chill. Stars twinkling in a moonless sky or strung from my neighbors' porch rails. 5: Snow Waking at midnight to rain, cold shoulders; then waking again to quiet. In a steaming shower I linger— driving to work, snow on the ground and rooftops, but the road is clear. 6: Northern Gauguin A short jog on a cold, cloudy day I took through the pines and tailings of the old mine, whereupon I met a dog I hadn't met before—orange- furred, sweet-faced: Red Husky. 7: Winter Chores Raking the lawn yet again, recovering my little rectangle of questionable success; placing the leaves in the yard where the wild grasses would grow— if leaves were nickels, I'd be... (burdened with nickels). 8: Winter Sun A short jog after a light snowfall I took. Patchy clouds, patchy snow, a bright sun with seemingly little warmth—except for steam drifting from one, sunny pine trunk: A Friday before Christmas, 2001. 9: You Go to My Head 28 December, 2pm: Louis Armstrong in the tape player. Sitting, drifting on a wooden chair, staring out at the rain--makeshift nacimiento; I hear the heat click off once again. 10: Year-End Chores 29 December, 2pm: making the longish trip to the mall—our thoughts drifting to classical music, our own desires. We pass a flock of wild turkeys foraging in a cow pasture, in the rain. back | ToC | next
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