Beating Eggs

My arm, my arm!
What's done me harm
is a lack of electric mixer.
I guess that I have quite the knack
for beating eggs,
but I could go quicker.

Uh-Oh

You can only say "uh-oh" if it was a mistake.
Tell that to my child as I mop up this lake.

There's a Color You've Never Seen

There's a color you've never seen
somewhere hiding in between
turquoise, tangerine, chartreuse,
burnt sienna, pink and puce.
This hue, it's true, has eluded for ages
artists, smartests, chefs and sages,
but I finally found it while faring afar
and I'll sell it to you in this opaque jar.

Creature Comfort

I'm glad to know I'm not my own
and that you're not mine either.
I'm glad my creator keeps us as his.
This comfort's made me a believer.

When You Wake Up

When you wake up in the morning,
do you wish that either life was fun
or that you could go back to bed?
Or do you just do what needs to be done?

Slow

Sometimes I'm on a different time:
I'll leave when it's time to get there,
I'll get ready when it's time to go.
And while in one country that worked just fine,
here, it just makes me seem slow.

Real

Sometimes I am surprised by just how real

my baby is. Like– she knows how I feel!

Care

Did Jesus ever see something and just choose not to care?
I know that Jesus cared a lot, but the question's fair.
Because I'm sure he saw some grease or tangles in some hairs,
and although he could have numbered them, maybe he just didn't care.

Outnumbered

To be outnumbered

doesn't mean you're a victim.

Doesn't mean you're picked on,

although at times, you might be.

To be outnumbered

just means you're not the majority.

But if you've always practiced humility,

you'll be ready to act rightly.

I Will Not Start

I will not start another book
until I've finished this.
I will not blow the candles out
until I think my wish.
I will not cook another meal
with all these half-meals in the fridge.
But I will start another day
no matter what yesterday did.

I Hear That Train A'Coming

I hear that train a'coming,
it's rolling through the park,
and waking up neighbors
who sleep when it's dark,
and stopping some traffic,
and making cars wait.
But it's not the train's fault
if you're angry and late.

Some Times

What time do you wake in the morning? Exactly six a.m?
Or maybe six fourteen, after hitting the snooze button twice.
Or maybe about eleven, since you work until after two.
Or maybe after noon. Sometimes that would be nice.
But what about sometimes four, and sometimes more like nine?
It'd be nice to have a routine, but as long as I'm rested it's fine.

Themselves

Many would like to be younger,
and yet no one wants to be held back.
There are few who want to be weird,
but few who just want to blend in to the pack.
Lots of people would like to be funny,
but few who are ready to be laughed at.
There are seven billion people who can only be themselves
but relatively few who want to be that.

Apricot

I saw the apricot fall.
It hit the dirt with a thud.
Now it sits on the ground
with dirt all around,
but it tastes so much better than mud.

A Month From Now

A month from now, who knows what will be
as the future passes through the sieve of reality
and straight on to the past, where it can only make us wise.
All that I know is it will be a surprise.

Just To Get It Out

I would like to write a song
but nothing on my mind is worth singing about.
But I could sing it anyway
just to get it out.

Clear my mind of calculations
of who owes who and explanations,
Clear my mind of pros and cons and
spreadsheets they are written on
'cause I just want to write a song.

I would like to write a song
but nothing on my mind is worth singing about.
But I could sing it anyway
just to get it out.

Clear my mind of to-do lists,
wish lists, hit lists, things to get.
Clear my mind of goals and plans
… and clear my mind of who I am.

I would like to write a song.
Something in my mind is worth singing about.
I'm all humming inside.
Now just to get it out.

Slivered Almonds

How do they sliver almonds?
That's what I'd like to know.
Do they drop them from a tower
onto well-placed blades below?
Do they run them past a mandoline
with several sharpened bands?
Or do they sit there with a paring knife
making slivers in their hands?

I Am a Woman Full

I am a woman full of
agonizing empathy and
welling convictions,
and I don't know what to say or do.

If My Vagina Were a Gun

(In response to this poem by almost the same title)

If my vagina were a gun, how careful I would be,
knowing that it could mean life or death to somebody.
If my vagina were a gun, yes I'd treat it with care,
and carry it (concealed of course) with me everywhere.
If my vagina were a gun, I'd assume that it was armed
so I could keep it safe from children, and so they would not be harmed.
If my vagina were a gun, I would not lend it to just any man.
Still, there'd always be a risk that something would not go as planned.
And if my vagina were a gun, an accident could mean dead.
But the magic of vaginas is they're designed to bring life instead.

The Grass

The grass is only green when it rains.
If it's not going to rain, I'd rather have weeds.
Or a mix, just in case the weather decides
to do a little of each.

Seven Eleven

There are no Seven Elevens
in this vicinity
and so to use our gift card,
we have some friends to see.

Mount Rainier

There's a place that I hold dear,

and that place is Mount Rainier.

I haven't been there in three years.

I let out a sigh in lieu of tears.

Quite Quietly

If you don't have something nice to say,
don't say anything at all,
so we must live quite quietly
on earth after the fall.

Beautiful and Strong

Each woman that works
at the pet food store
weighs about two models,
quite possibly more.
She swings fifty pounds of chicken feed
like nothing to her shoulder.
I think "You're beautiful and strong!"
Maybe I should have just told her.

Nice Enough

People at church are nice enough.
They shake your hand and such and such,
they ask you, nicely, how you've been
and are so very thankful when
you sign up to help with something.
Plus sometimes there are cookies for munching.
But if I were looking for a group of friends
this is really not where my search would end.
But at church, God's word hits close to home,
and that is why we go to Shalom.

Stomping Grounds

You give new meaning to "stomping grounds"
about every other day,
and I always have to wonder
if you're here or away.

Talk to Me

Talk to me.
Tell me what's wrong,
and I promise I won't
come back with a song
about how it all
will all be fine.
I can't even say
it'll be better with time,
or work, or a smile,
or even days on your knees.
Because I don't know.
So talk to me please.

Celebrate Responsibility

Back home before the fireworks,
because I have a baby
and babies are not freedom.
Lets have fireworks on Labor Day and Mother's Day and Father's Day,
and maybe not so late at night,
to celebrate responsibility.

The Eve of Independence

On the eve of independence,
our hearts are clenched so tight.
With only one thing on our minds,
our souls are set to fight.

By Your Toil

Beans in the fields,
weeds in the beans.
God said, "by your toil"
and we feel what it means.
That nothing is perfect.
There's no magic fairy dust
or magic fairy spray
and so toil we must.
Some toil on foot,
pulling weeds with their hands.
Some toil their minds
to find a balm for this land.

It's There

If this is the lowest price,
then, by golly, we must pay it.
Just like every thought I think–
it's there and so I say it.