Inheritors

Rock-climbing exploits
now not feasible

clambering zeal
still visceral

magnetic pull
wishfulness...yes

physicality
agile nimbleness...no

yet proxy joy
from grandchildren tales

craggy-heights scramblers
to pinnacle delights.

War Among the States

Continuing clashes
of the Civil War
rancorous but not bloody

blue and red battles
strewn across the map
midst rampant pandemic

campaign barrages
of acrimonious salvos
through election's finish

win for the Republic
loss for repulsed zealots
union still in dispute. 

Fall's Signature

Red scrawled
in five-leaflet script
across gray stone walls

metamorphosed
into seasonal scribbling
from summer's lush green

soon to disappear
through winter's erasure. 

Backyard Show

Emergent radiance
of colorful luminescence

autumn's annual visit
with maple-rich display

flaming swatches
golden leafage

luminous shimmers
of arboreal elegance

consummate intimacy
with evanescent beauty. 

Antidotes

Oppressive gloom
unremitting doom
worst-ever everything

no newscast relief
loathsome politics
persistent pandemic

drought, pestilence
starvation next
hopefully not war...

summertime respites
of birds and blossoms
all oblivious elixirs.

Primary Colors

Primary colors
in asynchronous flight

trio of brilliance
eye-caught surprises

polychromatic scenes
in random offerings

backyard pageant
of scattered glimpses

uplifting my spirits
to momentary delight.

Privileged to See

Immense gratitude that I can see
see and sense Earth's exquisiteness

attracted to eye-catching details
gladdened by Beauty's bits and pieces

rocks, biota, other sublime types
adding always to catalog of sights

the small and the magnificent
presented for my meditative Bliss.

Blue Chest

Its whereabouts
invisible and visible
residing on both coasts

brightly colored veneer
with deep-holding drawers
still home for all-boy clothes

third generation asset
filled with t-shirt souvenirs
folded, stored, and replenished.

Pandemic

In Pandemic's mists
forsythia hatches
spring-blooming limbs

bluebirds convene
confidently
for silent re-nesting

perigee's super moon
presides over
with obliging brightness

muddled humankind
in slow motion
awaits statistical doom.

Tasty Reminiscences

Childhood taste treats
associated chefs
not easily forgotten

mother, grandmother
family friend perhaps
with heirloom recipes

frosted, egg-shaped cakes
holiday sugar cookies
ployes, meatballs, brisket

ambrosial offerings
gratefully remembered
from mythic younger days.

Rio Grande Rift

Deep, earth-splitting seam
serpentine, liquid strip of green
parting rock-solid, lava-laid cliffs

titanic, thunderous roar
from sudden crustal buckling
catching its prairie surface unawares.

Atomic Building Blocks

Fissionable bits and pieces
exploded as in the Big Bang

seeds for audacious uses
activated by human brains

star-making stuff ready for fusion
scattered through cosmic vastness

creation and destruction
as relentless opportunists.

Memory River

Springing forth
as a trickle

then braided streams
gravity-driven

bathing the landscape
for memory making

gathering force
from willful sculpting

added resilience
with faster flow

eager gushing
into lush euphoria

cascading losses
within surprise rapids

consoling currents
in familiar patterns

gentle meanders
amid remembered dreams

wisdom mingling
with the indifferent sea.

Mineral Muse

Shiny mica glints
as random sparkles
in seaside granite

bright sun-catchers
on blue-drenched day
in seaside granite

glittery greetings
from deep-earth time
in seaside granite

crystalline totems
for unsettled me
on seaside granite.