• THIRST

    A man stands on the peak of a hill,staring down into the valley below him,but it is not clear what he is staring at. Standing in the valley, by the bankof a slowly flowing river, I stareup the tall hill to its peak, and see the clouds gather around the manas if soon to swallow…


  • NOTING WEATHER

    The weather, he announced to no one in particular,ought to be musical or at leastincorporate some jazz. Spring is bebop, Trane and Parker,the sudden clash of Blakeythe downpours of Dizzy and the hint of what’s to comeon the fingers of Monk, andKenny and Milt. Summer brings the slow easingas early Miles slides in, and wesink…


  • NATURE REMINDS

    Last night, all the romanticcomedies worth watchingon Amazon and Netflix havingalready been seen, many twice we had no choice but to optfor a coming of age tale on Netflixaccompanied by the mellifluoustones of Sir David Attenborough. In my dreams last night there wasa debate between the Gentooand Emperor Penguins as to whichwas the more enrapturing,…


  • BLUE ON BLUE

    The sun is shining brightly today,and the sky, with only the oddpassing cloud, is that certain blue. Do not ask me to describe that certainblue, but be assured it is not exactlythe blue that you are imagining right now. Even if I would describe it, in someinfinite detail, your vision of itwould at best be…


  • I WANT

    I want the sky to be that certain crimsontinged with burnt sienna and cinnabar,but today winter is holding swayand the sun sneaks off behindthe gray wall from which it only peeked,and left the day one of grayscalewhere intensity replaced beautyand even the cardinal opted to stayhigh in the spruce, offeringonly an occasional glint of red.We…


  • TUESDAY TRUTH: THE SPIDER

    Several things you need to understand. First, and foremost, a waterspout is a term no one around here has used in centuries, unless you mean a tornadic columnar vortex of water, and trust me, we spiders avoid those like the plague. Shocking, I know, but with eight legs we cannot swim. At best some of…


  • HAIKU

    The small house fly hasno arachnophobiaonly once in life. In the Norway Sprucepine cones threaten to descend.Squirrels sit waiting. In the sunlit parkthe small dog watches the mango fetch the thrown ball Maple leaves emergealmost certain that winteris now history A rain of petalscherry snow covers the groundwe await the fruit.


  • THE PROMISE

    The moon has gone past full and as waning as I write, it’s slow retreat hopefully taking with it the burden of winter, that we now must measure in feet, the inches having been heaved up, one upon another. Spring will come soon for a taste of it, for spring is an inveterate tease, preferring…