I watch the dogs roll in the grass
watch them eat new shoots.
I watch the thrush on the fence post
watch it peck at something in its talons.
I watch the sunrise over the Cascade foothills
watch rays of morning light pass through distance fir trees.
I watch the leaves burst forth, elongate, turn green
watch them fade to brown, fall, and slowly make their way to the forest floor.
I watch the rise and fall of my lover’s chest
watch her sleep peacefully in the bed next to me.
I watch the second hand
watch it strain for each new minute.
I watch my eyes in the mirror
watch wrinkles form on the outer edges.

I look across the garden
look at all the medicine growing.
I look down at my hands
look at the roughness of a lifetime of toiling in the soil.
I look at my little black and white cat
look at the patches of missing fur.
I look back over my shoulder
look at what I have left behind.
I look at the stars in the quiet of night
look at the vastness of our galaxy.
I look into the coy pond I dug by hand
look at the fish still swimming the same circles five years later.
I look at the bamboo I planted to give them shade
look at the disaster of an invasive species taking over.

I see her in the window
see her looking back at me.
I see the sun high in the sky
see little droplets of sweat form along my forearm.
I see the faces of children in magazines
see them with flies on their eyeballs.
I see the shapes of divinity in the flower pedals
see the Mandelbrot’s in crashing waves.
I see my reflection in the pool
see concern and worry upon my brow.
I see my mother barely breathing in the Hospice home
see the last moments of her physical life.
I see the future
see it in blurry visions of death and despair.