—1—

wind moves me like

( )

my grandparents

were a love poem

before I could write

—2—

sky consumes gull

cormorant measures

bay from bay to bay

coffee stained blouse

memories in waves

—3—

my son calls them birds of pray

announces:

we can’t make people good

we have to try

plovers leave their nests

we fly our kites

—4—

on the path

wild daisies before us

wild daisies behind us

—5—

younger son:

what fun things shall we do today?

older son:

whatever Mom has planned

hold her hand—

—6—

sister carries

ocean on back

rocking waves

in baby’s eyes

—7—

what could have been

my greatest poem ever …

Mom you gotta smooch me

my husband remarks

can you believe all this green?

—8—

ocean is water

water is not the ocean

more water routine

I love you forever

like the ocean?

like water

le’orekh yamim

for the length of days

belly rub slows

babbling brook

any raindrop puddle

—9—

baywater in pail

never makes it back to base

castle before the sand

who protects this beach

from what my children carry?

I shoo the gulls

Todah! Todah!

meaning sacrifice

with my hands

what gives

—10—

green lights of Sunrise

we float on a breeze

exchange silence

then radio ambrosia

blackbird crossing

a lifetime of zen

—11—

please, moon.

what would you have me do?

hold me!

I would if I could.

poem for a friend

at the end of a life or

beginning of the day:

what river will you cross?

what rain have you known?

remember when we thought

the storm on the way

was the storm that had passed?

we are what has always been

you said once in a dream

looking forward

means looking back

center clear & sound

I think we’re alone now

cricket sings

at last

—12—

have you loved

someone so much

you longed to be

the pockets for

their hands?

lost in thought I notice

some bunny notice me

it has been too long

since we had God

over for dinner

—13—

I caught your hand

as you turned away

what about Spring?

what about time?

I understand now

why the egret

is always alone

—14—

crows haughty

american/fish

house birds busy

finch/sparrow

common visitors

grackle/yellowthroat

my usual suspects

robin/cardinal

gull proclaims Day!

begin/now

coffee before

here/there

—15—

summer’s first fireflies

string lights along my path

moonlit lake guides me home

deep breath following scripture

great comfort in being known

I hardly notice cicadas dying

—16—

Papa sits on the porch

with his Sunday paper

cardinal calls Elohim

Elohim Hebrew for God

meaning mighty & supreme

I move to the chair where

my Bubbi loved to laugh

how did you sleep?

whatever I said always

worthy of his chorus

that’s wonderful.

a soft chuckle

a big sip of coffee

this poem is for the birds!

he would say if he could

—17—

if living is research

dying is dissertation

in college I saw ( ) perform

thought they were a cover band

sometimes life feels this way

the real thing happening

not knowing till after

I collect seaside treasures

hoping my grandchildren

will break them to bits

—18—

before our kids had us

& my husband lost abandon

we faced the stars together

lying on our backs

in the middle of the road

we saw traffic coming

still we stayed

—19—

stay

Selah

hang in there

hang this here

as from a basket

there is more to be

if we hang tough

do not fret about

mockingbirds

one will sing

she always does

—20—

loon cleans wings on a rock

groom sunbathing all day

like anything prepares us

for true love at first flight

—21—

pray how reeds

bend to kiss the

unfathomable

grateful to be

moved by wind

—22—

broken brass bowl cracks

filled with golden hour

unsilence of summer

hoooooommmme

—23—

there is so much you can do:

return to water in your mind

thank birds in the parking lot

pray for the sailor & his crew

as they drift from under you

how will you hold peace?

everything else goes

all else fails

—24—

untying poems

from my hand

you are never

your treehouse

be silent about

where we sleep

—25—

horizon bends

holds us

herself

we learn to dive

to live without

—26—

water runs in place

swan never begs

she takes what gives

why rise to ants?

in love

we gain

what fails

—27—

waiting for the sun

to make shadow out of me

if love is not here

it is nowhere

look without expecting

find only wind in trees

be the bough

bent | unbroken

—28—

no one can

_________

how I can

_________

come to learn

mind moves mind

spirals out of self

—29—

this! poet screams

fire ether ember

pages to ashes

frisky breeze

—30—

before my son recalls

his superhero agenda

he marvels at garden

breeze & sun

pick me up

we notice fuschia flowers

in the neighbor’s bramble

who is bigger? tell the truth

you definitely you

—31—

sitting in the grass

with my baby

for the first time

with my baby

sitting in the grass

—32—

my son finds me

meditating by an oak

slow-moving plan

he picks a dandelion

places it in my palm

runs with delight

ocean-bound stream

—33—

I know that song

mockingbird mockingbird

there she is son

it feels good to know & say

I know this wave

love love

it feels good

to say

know

name the things that move us

then let them go

let them go

—34—

sparrows bicker over

blessings in a fruitless tree

my husband silenced

by my bowl of spaghetti

—35—

water runs

below this

bridge

what rules above

—36—

crickets so bold

even I’m attracted

what love is this?

what more is there?

how a weed grows

my baby could be a heron

within time

upon nothing

the art of how things align

the center beyond looking

hear the cry without crying

—37—

my son asks

what was my name?

who was I in heaven

before you named me?

(birds) sing to respond

(trees) say shhh

—38—

if you want to

write good poetry

take this blue crayon

birds are quiet today

ants go about their business

they say no news

is the best news

I say nothing

for it to mean

something

—39—

clouds became

mom met dad

became they

they had us

becoming we

every circle moves

our children watch

finches brings wrappers

into my air conditioner

if that will not do what will?

deep breath is deep

for death’s sake

in a weed box

we are roots

before and after

we are roots

sunstone loves moon

all the very same

—40—

upon Venus pray:

shema

our Father

love of language

comes from love

language of love

comes from quiet

—41—

just when I thought

tomato plant surrendered

to time & wind & change

I see one tiny tendril cling

holding onto this dear life not yet

autumn bows her head

ok friend

—42—

I watch an urge

hover above water

carefully ignore the itch

dive | scratch | gather

chi moves monotony

marsh prays to forget

we learn through wind

—43—

surf is the best song

silence between ebbs

sings love / again

slowing down there is space

when space is not needed

ever-inward om

gull’s eye

galaxies

man & his boat

—44—

kid had a nightmare

about losing me again

estuary

purgatory

I’m here

light on water

love lingers

long after dusk

—45—

my whole head put on notice

by some sparrows on a line

they demand to know

when do we wake today?

how will the blue appear?

to what cloudy ends?

am I a worthy witness?

maybe the coffee

will make a poem

return

re: turn

my thingness had more room

before trying to know a crow

—46—

I teach poetry to my boys

look at all this blood I say

ephemeral pools & such

the geese are calling us!

the ant is more than an ant

does the difference between lightning & a lightning bug strike you too?

I try not to kill haiku

crushing on couplets

I watch sonnets walk

who am I to choose

happiness for them?

—47—

yield then—

return home to find

this great cloud

what more could I want?

—48—

watch the gulls

have their way

off & on again

your shoulders

chip

—49—

life is not an old western dad’s wisdom outlived him

as it should be

cowboys do not wear

black & white hats

this is why I love the sea

we could fish without fear

trust waves more than people never caring which

fish was which fish

hook in a finger

better than a trigger

—50—

shore withdraws

our final breaths

—51—

to never know

a faraway stare

wind in willow

my sailor’s sail

long expanded

an after-school

snack prepared

—52—

komorebi in my baby’s eyes

I was not a mother until

I pointed out the moon

when you are a mother

you wish you were a child

when you see you are a child

you call your mother again

we are close to the earth

she is so far away

—53—

catbird not spooked

by the passing train

right line hesitates

silver moon sliver

in morning sky

—54—

like a tree besides himself

streams of water

first psalm

first kiss

first born

this is a peaceful walk mom

our hands never tight enough

every crosswalk

carried on my back

let’s pray for this spirit tree

he offers secrets

into the trunk

we imagine our

neighborhood roots

relaxing & unpacking

marsh roses on sidewalks

—55—

my baby’s delight

at the sight of surf

—56—

from silence

a million mommy! moments

surviving is trying to

laugh more than gulls

—57—

my bubbi’s writing desk

wedged between windows

in a corner of quiet light

blue jays have much to say

I get lost/find peace in

the way waterdrops

rest in the screens

woven waterfalls

suspended for

this moment

coffee will cool

children will stir

blue jays sing all the same

still - there is more to say

—58—

sitting at the marina

surprised by the sailboats

sitting at the marina

—59—

you think the moon

looks at us and thinks

how beautiful they look

tonight

—60—

offered butterscotch pudding

in the nursing home cafeteria

my Bubbi summons laughter

vodka under banana leaves

humor is a kind of reluctance

ancestors’ remind stay light

morse code in dove coos

—61—

cypresses whisper

indecent secrets

about the clouds

for this coffee

I offer thanks

it is enough

—62—

—63—

open the window

if you are hot

birds seek food & you

are hungry too

a grain of rice

the whole truth

find the litter

when blind

chairs were trunks before

they were stumps for spines

then spineless

our mother wonders

can we profess love

without consumption

can we carry burdens

before & beyond

9 months 99 years

any nanosecond

—64—

a wet bird

never flies at night

think about it

my papa’s laugh

river without end

—65—

our nature is to yearn

for the unlearnable

if you could hold tight

apples all day & night

I would make sauce

but you are tired

& I am the apple

all bruise no bite

—66—

shadows & reflections

ripples on the water

eternal effortlessness

light & wind & mind

—67—

before day

gets daying

I spend time

with the clouds

stay soft they sing

lullaby rocks me

imagine that?

ageless soul

envision

anything

—68—

my family in the garden

my husband tells me

light theory creates

quantum entanglement

like a rainbow

cotton candy skies

is pollution

ever naive

I reach for our babies

firsts & lasts

is it even a book if

it doesn’t get wet?

—69—

—70—

hold psalms

balm for unheld spaces

let orion’s belt keep you

you are the kayak raft oar

water shows you how

does not understand

cardinal reminds us

to become an ancestor

not to heal one

—71—

I know there are 150 psalms

until I know there are 160

then I know there are

probably less which is

entirely problematic

we bank on what

we want to see

imagine you

know nothing

then know that

—72—

if a crow cries

& you stay outside

expect only trouble

wind chimes

hold no whimsy

without wind

don’t count

discount sales

as history

—73—

I remember

walking to church

Easter morning

alone with wind

Christ grabbing

my dry palm

nah girl

not so fast

—74—

heartbreak never stops

lovers from the first kiss

try to dissect how

hearts prepare cuts

stay sharp when

your parts feel softest

you cannot miss home

if you never leave

—75—

earthquake yells

go to your room

we fortify

in the wake

heaven cracks us

we dare ask why

—76—

we watch children

play in the bay

in my husband’s lap

he unfurls my fist

did you know atoms

never actually touch?

we defy gravity

& time or whatever

—77—

morning alchemy

sun king sings here

money does not grow

—78—

without water

there is no way

everything moves

life between sunsets

my moon on your chest

silent storied horizon

—79—

ocean seems at war

with herself today

or angry at us

excited foreplay?

best not to get worked up

let tides be tides

found coins in the sand

all your debts repaid

—80—

memorial trees

cherry for bubbi

maple for papa

how many toasted

marshmallows without expecting a call

from adult me?

—81—

wind moves me like

( )

my grandparents were

a love song before

I heard how they sing