When the Weather

Mmmhmm.
This water is good.
It's good when the air is dry.
I can't hardly wait
to recall how it tastes
when the temperature is high!
And the door
out to the patio,
I like how light comes through the glass.
But when the weather
is warmer,
I'll like how it lets me pass.

About Design

My husband says, "Write a poem about design."
And he's right. That's what's been on my mind.
The reason I haven't written poems this past week
is I've had a dozen vector graphics that I had to tweak.
It's amazing what some points, some lines, some colors in between
have the strength to say. How much they can mean.
And how much there is to learn when each mistake's a class
and the notebook is my brain and I have to write so fast.

The Words, the Pictures, and the Music

Unlike the brain behind my face,

my hard drive's running out of space.

I could delete the words,

the pictures and the music.

And they would be gone without a trace.

I think that I should just hold on

before my files are all gone.

I could take the words 

fit a thousand in each picture and set each picture to music.
And then maybe they would fit…
or overflow?

What Language

I speak to my husband in This-ish.
I speak to my baby in That-ish.
And what language do I think in, you might ask.
I think about what I am seeing.
I think about what I am doing.
And being poetic's becoming a difficult task.

Watch and Play

You always do fine in the nursery.
There's plenty of toddlers to track.
While your mama's away
you watch and you play
until your mama comes back.

All Caught Up

Wouldn't if feel wonderful to feel
all caught up?
Everything behind you,
nothing but the breeze and the sunshine on your face. I'd be
scared.
Wouldn't you feel scared?
Losing that tension that keeps a few things from getting done,
a few projects from flying
would be like losing gravity.
All caught up:
caught up by the atmosphere.
Yes, it would be clear.
But I'd be scared.

All Poetry Is Lost

Today was going to be the day I got caught up.
I guess that will be tomorrow.
If you run out of things to do,
I have a list you can borrow!
But I'll write on that some other day.
Tonight I'm only here to say…

All poetry is lost
when your child must be trapped in a plastic contraption
to write it.

To Do What I Set Out To Do

If I had the time to do what I set out to do,
I'd need not one hundred years, but two!

Each Delicate Thing

Flakes of frost fall swiftly at an angle to the ground.
I should have taken a picture while they were all up on the tree.
But if we were to capture each delicate thing and flatten it forever as a file
quick before it changes
just think how many pictures there would be of you and me.

Draft

What do you do
when a different religion
comes knocking at your door?
"Uh huh, thank you, I've got to go."
It's cold outside.
I don't want to let in a draft.
But could I let a gush of warm air out to them?

Oh, Library

Oh, Library!
I hear you calling me!
I have seven books on hold, apparently.
(And three books overdue,
and one that needs some glue.)
While you wait for me, please know: I love you.
I know you open up at ten.
I have four more poems to pen
and then I hope to see you again, my good friend.

I'm Going To Write Poems

I'm going to write poems.
I'm going to sit on my butt and write poems.
I don't care what you say,
I don't care what you need,
I'm going to write poems for these people to read.

I'm going to write poems.
I'm going to look at this room I call home
and I'll find in this mess
something worth thoughtfulness.
I'm going to write poems and I'm not going to stress.

I'm going to write poems--
set my chair in the sun and write poems.
Cobwebs clear from my head,
welcome poetry instead.
I'm going to write poems that ought to be read.

How Would I Write

If I set you to random
and told you to play
you'd sing to me
for twenty-two days.
So many songs
that I just might
need to hear.
But how would I write?

Savory

Every sweet thing can be wrapped in red

and every sweet word can fit on a card

but better than sweet is savory

like a promise to do what is hard.

Love Is Like the Thread

If it's true that fools rush in,

I'd rush for you all over again.

It seems that rushing's always been

a way of life for us.

But between the many road trips

without time for scenic exits

and the passports, visas, tickets,

and jostling in the bus,

it seems that we've become a family.

I've grown up and you're more manly.

It may look like we're just standing,

when really we're taking a breath.

And when we breathe, we start to dream,

and you know all seven dreams I mean--

our minds come together like a seam,

and love is like the thread.

And we've both done it, so we know

it's not worth rushing when you sew.

At least today, let's take it slow

and save this stitch in time.

Let's save each penny that you earn,

and savor every chance to learn.

I'll say, may your heart always yearn

to be stitched tight to mine.

She Waits For Love

She waits for love like Valentine's Day,
but even on that day it doesn't rise.
Instead, like every day he waits for her.
And neither will see through the other's eyes.

When There Is No Time to Think… We Are Unaware

When there is no time to think,
that is when to think.
And when there is no time to pray,
find it anyway.
You can't study by putting a book under your pillow,
but I do believe that we can rest in prayer,
and that God will shape our thoughts throughout our sleeping,
and waken us when we are unaware.

How Do We Know That Spring Will Come

How do we know that spring will come?

It might get colder and colder.

In May we might be shoveling

through snow up to our shoulders.

In August we might start to pack

to move towards the equator,

wondering if we'd ever come back–

if spring were coming later. 

In October we might ask ourselves

what to call this long new season.

At the second Christmas this winter,

we might be un-merry (with reason).

And by next February,

this might be getting old.

But I know that soon the spring will come,

so I won't grump about the cold.

Love to Learn

I try and yearn
and love to learn.
I swear I'll never stop.
With positive greed
I'll read and read.
I hope my head won't pop!

I Would Have Never Known

You always eat in the middle of the night
but I should never complain.
When else would I stop and realize
these thoughts within my brain?
You eat and eat and go back to sleep,
but I'm left wide awake.
I'm hungry, too. (That's nothing new.)
I have a fast to break.
And I have hypotheses to try
and words to write into poems.
These midnight hours are full of ideas
I would have never known.

Happy Birthday, Brother

It's hard to think that you're not much older than me.
It's different now than when you were six and I was three.
And soon even our kids will be in the same stage.
Don't worry, you'll always be ahead of me in some ways.

That Pop

That pop in my knees,
that crinkle in my joints–
is there a disease
to which these point?
Arthritis? Inflammation?
Too much running up and down?
Is it a real big problem?
Or is it just a sound?

Boundaries

"A love that knows no boundaries."
It sounds so good in theory.
But I've read a woman's tears,
and so I'm skeptical. I'm leery.
I see no one can love another
without loving his own self.
It's just that, lacking boundaries,
love's selfishness excels
and overcomes intentions
and turns itself to lust.
So until love's perfected,
boundaries are a must.

Modern Poem

This poem
it shall be
famous as all get out
because
you
don't
get it.

What I'm Doing Now

What I'm doing now is for today.
At least it's not for the day before.
But if this is only for today,
I still want more.

Get Inspired

If you need to get inspired
to get up off your duff
and your list of things to do
doesn't motivate enough
and you're not sure you can do it
and you start to get depressed
then click on over to YouTube
and watch a commencement address.

Screen

Something spattered on my screen
makes it hard to think.
I use my sleeve to get it clean
with water from the sink.
And now I have page that's blank
to fill with all my thoughts.
It's just the sort of screen that could
give me writer's block.

A Bird Sings

Why would a bird sing
when it's far below freezing?
I hope this means spring comes
and winter is easing.
I hear it again–
whether sparrow or wren
I know that when spring comes
we're going to be friends.