DAY 23 - THE LAKE NEAR ME

The lake shimmers autumnal blue;
a piper stalks near the shore,
his doppelganger reflecting
his perfect self

OCTOBER 15.16 DOE-EYED AND INTENSE

DOE-EYED AND INTENSE

Graceful and
awkward both,
these tallest
of all the
jungle's
denizens
Have many
contrary
characteristics -
they're so tall,
they practically
have to do
the splits
to get low
enough to drink
But those
long legs also
make it possible
for them to run
as fast as 35 mph
for short sprints,
and lope at 10 mph
for a long way.
Their remarkable
long-lashed big
eyes are not just
beautiful, but allow
them to see the
furthest of any
animal on earth
This one shared
a long gaze with
me at the Philly
Zoo in August.

OCT.10.16 - LUNA LURKS

LUNA LURKS

It's only Fall but the clouds are
pregnant with snow, and the air
smells Arctic-cold
But Luna is harvest-tinged, a pale
gold as she peeks from behind
the laciness of tree branches
No matter the season, she keeps
her secrets to herself.

OCT.9.16 - HARVEST SKIES

Oct.9.2016

HARVEST SKIES

Striations from peach 

to pumpkin

fill the sky

smearing the horizon

with colours to reap

This time of year 

is rich with bounty

and we are blessed

OCT.8.16 - MY OFFICE

Yes, it's every bit as messy as it
appears; and I wouldn't have it
otherwise
My mind seems to need the clutter
to spark any type of creativity
- so I let it be.

OCT. 7.16 - GEESE FORMING

It's late for these stragglers
but I hear them honking
wildly overhead
These last few geese who
don't seem to know how
to fly in formation spend
day after day
Landing and taking off

OCT.6.16 - LIGHT THROUGH THE LEAVES

Underfoot, a carpet
of dry leaves
crackles as we walk
uphill towards
the brilliance
slanting through
the canopy overhead.

October 5.16 CLOUD BURST

At end of day,
from behind the fir
the last blush of sun
fades slightly
around a slate cloud
A cloud fair bursting
with rain, just waiting
to pour over the land

OCTOBER 4.16 THE BEAN

In hopes of getting caught up ...

Oct.4.2016

THE BEAN*

Last year at this time
we were right here
and I took photos
of this piece
of magnificence.
It has another name
But Chicagoans call
it simply, "the bean".

*Cloud Gate

OCTOBER 4.2016 - FOUNTAIN PENS

I write
all the time; I am, I can say
a writer, mostly a poet
And my favourite writing
instrument is a fountain pen
To find a place that honours
these pens in such a way?
Bliss.

Oct. 2.16 I LOVE NYC BUT, CHI-TOWN HAS ITS OWN CHARM

Yeah, I've always been in love
with the Big Apple, I confess
But I'd ever been to Chicago
and had no idea how awestruck
I would become over
that spectacular place
What a skyline - and the rivers!
The art, the places to eat, oh my
We even saw the Cubs at Wrigley
Field in the playoffs ... cool

OCTOBER 1.2016 - GOOSE STEPPING SADLY

They're said to be monogamous
you know - Canada Geese
So to see this lone guy wandering
the paved area surrounding
the reflecting pool outside
City Hall; it's heart-breaking
He looks lost, or maybe he
has lost - his mate.

SEPTEMBER PEBBLES DAY 20

GULLED

Sand so hot that day
it was unbearable
to walk on
Gulls, so graceful
in the sky - ungainly
on the ground; this
poor guy seemed
planted, unwilling
to move, to soar

SEPTEMBER PEBBLES DAY 19

PERE LA CHAISE 2014

Riffling through vacation
photos, she finds a shot
of one of the sweetest
white scottie-dogs
He's standing on the grave
of someone she knows not
In a famous cemetery
in a famous city, in France.

SEPTEMBER PEBBLES

DAY 18

CLASPED

In the hotel lobby,
an abstract art-piece
catches the eye
More because
of the Swarovski
crystals encrusting great
swaths of it than
any artistic merit
One has to step back
from the desk to realize
Hands clasped, let liquid
sparkles spill freely.

SEPTEMBER PEBBLES

DAY 17

It's just a cup of coffee
a cappucino, alright
not just a cup of coffee
But, still - ordinary enough
you can order one almost
anywhere these days
Still, to have artworked
swirled into the surface
I hope that never becomes
old hat

SEPTEMBER 16

Day 16

PINK POPPY

Walking the Highline in NYC
a metropolis to be sure -
It's up where the birds perch,
and one can see far out to the
East river
I'm startled by a perfect
pink poppy

SEPTEMBER 15

DAY 15

LUCY PAINTS

At the airport, abstract art
draws the eye . Perhaps
surprisingly, the oils are
works by the city's
elephant.

SEPTEMBER PEBBLES

DAY 14

REFLECTIONS

Sometimes if you just concentrate
on skylines or architecture,
you might miss some subtler beauty
You know how the moon is really
only present as a reflection of the sun?
Some exquisiteness is merely mirrored
within the glass of others - don't forget
to look.

SEPTEMBER 13

ON RENTING A CAR

One thing that amused me about this rental:
it sported a license plate from Texas
and we're from Alberta - in Canada,
because of our oil resources, we're sometimes
referred to as "Texas north" . we got a bit
of a come-uppance when we parked in
Hudson, NY, though. The car in front of us?
A cool, sleek, black Maserati

SEPTEMBER 12

SKETCHY GUY

In a famous NYC art gallery
filled with famous works of art,
hangs one oddly primitive
sketched wiry outline
with little explanation
and even less to say the why
and how of it.
I really love it.

SEPTEMBER PEBBLES DAY ELEVEN

ON 9/11

It bears noting, I was just
at Ground Zero, at the memorial
museum there; how hard to
believe fifteen years have passed.
Nearby, a cellist dressed so fine
played -- I think Bach -- busking.
I remember a youngster watching
- the glow on his face, he was rapt.

SEPTEMBER 10,2016 A WATERLILY AND AN ANT

Exquisite mauve-petalled water lily
floats on a pond high in the sky
Caught within, travelling blithely unaware
one brown-black ant.

SEPT.9.16 WITHIN BOSTON COMMON

Within Boston Common, there is an ancient cemetery
This stone, sadly beaten and smashed
Tells the tale of a life cut devastatingly short
Its fate - the stone's - left to leave readers wondering
at the name

DAY NINE - SPECIAL PLACES

NEW YORK CITY

It has always been thus, a big-hearted city
that has treated me kindly, never harsh, nor rude
Has granted me solace when I've needed some
Let me sleep overnight once in Penn station
As long as I've been coming here, she's been
my safe haven, the one place I feel really fine

DAY EIGHT - THINGS OFT OVERLOOKED

Flipping through your baby album
I dwelt on your sweet face as always
But was taken aback by a couple
of pages where I'd shot nothing
but pics of your chubby feet; I hadn't
remembered doing it nor how cute
they were - how easily we forget
thingslike feet, toes - dimpled ankles.

DAY SEVEN: SEVENTY PERCENT CHANCE OF PERCIPITATION

DAY SEVEN - 70% CHANCE OF PERCIPITATION

The gloomy sky agrees with the weather forecaster;
grey banks of clouds glower at the city.
I open my umbrella to make sure it still works,
and am surprised at how lovely it is.
How is it I've never noticed the royal crests
decorating this practical tool? Purple, pink and gold -
did this used to belong to Prince? Oh, I wish.
I especially like the gilded ropes that link the crests to each other.

DAY FIVE: NO PHOTO BUT DESCRIPTION, YES

At least I didn't step in it this time
With very little sense of smell,
(a bonus sometimes, but not always)
I have, more than once, stepped
in dog poo - and if one of our dogs
poops inside, it's usually because
they're ill - so the poop is diarrhea

First there's disbelief as a cold
pudding-like substance closes
around my foot; then the sure
knowledge as I flick a light on
in the pre-dawn dimness, and even
my poor sense of smell allows me
to get a whiff of the truly disgusting
ill-dog crap, usually pea-green.

DAY FOUR: FLEETINGLY SEEN

FLEETINGLY SEEN

In a sea of shades of green:
emerald, jade, moss -
it is surprising how easily
they are able to camouflage
themselves.
But, buff-coloured bodies,
tails as white as milk,
large ears outlined
as if with charcoal-
somehow are here and gone,
in a twitch.

DAY THREE: UNEXPECTED IN A PARKADE

UNEXPECTED IN A PARKADE

It is silent and cool in the parkade
when I go to pull out of my spot,
I see the outline of a bird sitting
on a wire outside the structure
I take a photo through my window.
Some trick of optics makes the
crow appear enormous when I upload
the photo to my computer.

Day 2 Awake August BLACK PUG AGING

Amber eyes still bright in fast graying mug
Cotton-candy pink tongue peeks out

DAY SIX - WHAT OTHERS SAW AT THE RODEO

I WILL BE GETTING CAUGHT UP ... BUT STARTING TODAY AUGUST 10th

WORRYING ABOUT THE WRONG THINGS

Sipping iced water, my neighbour and I relax into afternoon on our deck. All I see is the rotting boards, the nails popping out, or missing. She tells me how much she loves our pots of flowers - wonders how we get them to bloom like this.

COMING IN AUGUST - A MONTH OF MINDFUL WRITING

I haven't done this for awhile but am looking forward to it immensely. Outside my family room window,the sky is being shattered by sheet lightning - ferocious amounts that rend the heavens, accompanied by cacophonies of thunder and rain pouring down so hard, it's difficult to discern which is thunder and which is water hammering the roof.