I use to read mysteries
with such  glee
Nancy Drew always
found the clues  
whodunits
wrapped up
in x amount of pages
with wailing police sirens
hauling
some miscreant off
just before that  last page is turned
whereas my story’s end
is still
Nowhere
in plain sight.

Modest beauties
whose creamily dabbed
orange, pink
and
yellow blossoms
despite tender care
rendered
died this spring
a speckled lizard
lurks inside
their empty talavera ***
next to the cheap blue
sun umbrella
that blows over
with every breeze.

1.Downpour

Rain submerges
every patch of back yard
greedy drains divert
suburban rivers towards
concrete paths
barely skirting
pool and pond
another layer of paint
washes off stunned gnomes.


2. A Mini Vacation

from the blazing sun
allows the chaste tree
to push out it’s long overdue
blooms with a view.


3. Cloud Cover

Gray drizzles through my day
letting only the flowers
lap up
hidden sunshine.

I use to know  
is long gone
dripped off
the blade ‘s
first stroke
blood stains
never  washed
away
just covered
with  steel.

Fragrant melon thunks
as mallet
rips
through rind
exposing sweet smashed flesh



Ceiling high dishes
teeter perilously
while soap suds froth
on the tv screen


Dust no better
stirred up
than lying down


Copper helmet
atop bookshelf
stands guard
keeps books
in order


Fragrant
brewing java
fills senses with
boundless joy


Bacteria breeds
in crevices
separation of socks and briefs
essential

I  planted hope
by the bathroom window
last year
yellow soundless  bells
were doomed to fail
with no
drainage holes
they drowned
in rustic pots
leaving the  jasmine
to claim their sun.