Red Cups

I was always the girl at parties

holding the same red cup all night

uncomfortable as a sunburn under denim

watching the Munchian faces scream-laugh

at some joke I could never understand

feeling all the more outside for not wanting to

Who are all of these people?

Did their dads ever tie dental floss

around their loose teeth and slam the door?

Have they ever cried over

the bare bones of a bird in the woods?

Would they hold their breath

to hear the gentle breeze better?

How I wish I could dump out

this warm waxy brew sitting stagnate

in my super-sized red plastic Solo

and fill it with cool soft mountain water

how the hint of ancient earth thrills my tongue

how just the thought of it quenches my soul

in the barren desert of this over-full house

Power outage

So this is how they did it

for almost all of human history

flickering fire alive in the night

thoughtful dinner by candlelight

soft conversation by the hearth

Electricity has made

chained children of our nights

shouting, yet unable to move

as we watch still, flat screens

instead of the dancing flames

How to survive a hurricane

Two frightened dogs, two overfed cats,

one fearless husband and you --

huddled in the concrete basement

taking refuge on the fold-out couch

the one that smells like neglect

the one that feels like a rock quarry

the one that you can't believe

you've allowed guests to sleep on

or at least try to sleep on

you now know that it is not easy

especially when the wind outside

is trying to crush your house

like a Coors can on a frat boy's head

You've never been a beer drinker

and yet for some strange reason

you begin to crave one now

but don't dare go upstairs

for fear of falling trees

and exploding windows

like you witnessed on the local news

just before the power went out

Of course, without electricity

the beer is probably warm by now

and warm beer is not good anytime

much less at a time like this

when the end feels so near

besides, you would never choose

a pale summer ale for your last drink

before your darling red cottage

was carried off into the murky grey

You would choose a Wildwood cream soda

the kind you could only get

from the magnet-covered fridge

in the tiny yellow and brown kitchen

at your Nana and Papa's house

the kind with the bright sky blue can

covered with vibrant green trees

friendly upright pines

not the broken and hurled maples

thrown like javelins by an angry Irene

And suddenly, having chosen a last drink

that could only be obtained

if you were to travel across the country

to sleepy Highland, Indiana

and then across time to the early eighties,

you begin to feel calmly confident

that you will survive this storm after all

For Papa

What a marvel it is to me

that the hummingbird

with its minuscule proportions

should remind me of my papa

who as a baby slept in a shoebox

but as a man could scarcely find a bed

long enough to keep his feet

from hanging off

What an enigma it is

that a shimmering insect of a bird

calls to mind the mill worker

who moved steel for a living

with bear claw hands

and hard helmet nails

What a mystery it is that I can see

the slow moving gentle giant

in the zig and zag of an avian wisp

And yet, when it flies overhead

the flutter of soft wind on my hair

reminds me of his cheek

resting on the top of my head

the glint in its iridescent feathers

is the wink in his blue eyes

Nothing can rival the hummingbird heart

save that of a hard working long loving

proud Slovakian whose hands

were large enough to hold forever

whose heart is light enough

to float on the breeze of eternity

Racing the Moon

With the advantage of of such luminosity

I am surprised when he falls behind

flickering like an old news reel

he must be swifter than I suspected

or perhaps he is more fallible than he lets on

he bobbles and falls from view

tripping over tangled tree limb laces

and I begin to believe that I might win

so I dig deep and press into my lead

lungs burning, tears flying from my eyes

the world blurs with the promise of victory

but when I round the next bend

he has somehow risen far ahead

titling now he sizes me up

and giving a nod of respect

he slows enough to let me gain

until soon we are in a dead heat

side by side we swim through the night

united by the fierce and simple love

of speed and wind and breath and sky

Growth

It is the very core of nature

yet how unnatural it feels

to be utterly broken

to be split like a seed

torn in two by a shoot

somewhere deep beneath the earth

to be ripped and divided

like a perfect round cell

making way for something new

life growing in the dark

conceived in uncertainty

this pregnancy is hard to bear

wisdom is a breech baby

born in the wilderness

with no epidural in sight

there is only deep breathing

and hopeful anticipation

to midwife the pain

only the flowers

formed beneath the dirt

to show the way

Saturday Matinee

Play for me oh wind and green

rustling raucously for a few bars

whilst the gold dipped paint brush

dabs and flecks the soft leafy stars

Dance for me old leaning fence

all smiles and chipped teeth

gliding with that Virginia vine

toe to toe and cheek to cheek

Sing for me chorus of barking spaniels

while falling petals pirouette

and nimble bees sway with the clethera

proving mother nature's triple threat

Act for me players costumed in wild glory

for this lavishly staged show

before an audience of newly shorn grass

and the angels who bid the blades to grow