Cut Flowers

Bouquet of summer flowers
levitating
above the kitchen table

suspended by
brilliant energy
coursing through rainbow colors

prismatic sunlight
trapped inside
kaleidoscopic petals

dropping singly
without notice
at quickening mortal pace.

Tall Grass Music

Phragmites
with perfect pitch
of grasses swishing

green zithers
in concert with
bayside breezes

gently stroking
memory music
in summer rhythms

amplified
reprised across
band-stand marshes.

Husband

He with the magnificent face
worthy of Michelangelo’s chisel

prominent ridges and angles
with Mt. Rushmorean aspect

expressive, upswept brows
frame for cornflower blue eyes

strong Augustan nose
just slightly out of true

skin stretched crinkly taut
across his Norseman’s bony cheeks

gathered into thin, straight lips
thatched with thick mustache

finished by distinguished chin
topped with tousle of snow-white hair

collection of Homeric features
his a most unforgettable face.

Summer Bath

I bathe in
the sensations
of a summer afternoon

immersed in flying colors
familiar twittering tunes
floral exhalations

floating upon
scalloped waves
of intersecting butterflies

a hummingbird glinting
offers greetings
between sips of his sugary brew

flowers invite
a nose plunge
into purple–pink-orange-yellow blossoms

rampant greenery
exudes newly mown aromas
almost too rich for breathing

I splash air
with potted geraniums
beneath a robin’s benevolent gaze

waiting my turn
to rinse among lilies
with skin-drenching fragrance

finally I stand
rotate in receiving circle
dried by sun-scented breezes.

Human Essence

No more swimming with words on the surface
time to dive deeper into meaning
push aside distracting veils
find the golden fleece of essence
that of being human

why the extremes
of love, violence, greed, giving
to motivate existence
why do peacemakers always lose
in the end

passions trump intellect
progress reverts to self-serving
understanding goes astray
rich to richer to exploitation
without reallocation

chained to evolution’s program
vulnerable to nature’s control
hopeful particles on galactic debris
hurtling through infinitude
toward the Unknowable

yet gifted with few conscious moments
in this lottery of life
to discern fantastic landscapes
feel loved if lucky
without doing harm to others.