Last of Night

Last of night 

blue violet 

between yellow curtains.

Morning Interjection

Dim edge of dawn

beyond these walls

chickadee's bright note.

Shampooing Casualties

Dozens of long hairs

straight, fine, golden brown

plastered in squiggles and 

paisleys to the shower tiles,

two coarser specimens

pure white and tending curly --

How long before the ratio reverses?

Four Carrot Sticks at 1 PM

Tapering orange three inch lengths 

school lunch production strays

neglected on the counter all morning

between my fingers diffident, wobbly

between my teeth still juicy and sweet.

Hot Pursuit

Black capped chickadees

chasing one another 

burst out of hawthorne scrub

whiz past my ears

wings angled like air racers 

rounding a pylon in Reno.

Woodland Abstract

Mid-trail puddle frozen in wide 

concentric scallops of opaque white

and narrow bands of clear dark ice

crosshatched throughout with triptych 

burnt umber ponderosa needles.

Frost Heaves

Skr-unk, skr-unk

quarter inch crystal pillars

ice and earth, frost and dirt

collapse first under heel

then under ball and toe.