My master closet will burst open one day
The evidence of my hardscrabble -
time on earth will finally give way
A family member will turn -
the doorknob after I'm gone
There before their eyes
Bones stacked in groups ,
pile upon pile , twelve hands -
high
Every bone a diary of my -
slow demise ..

White sky and warm air
The greenest of greens
A front porch chair

Contented hens , farm friends
A sweet guitar , a shaded glen filled -
with curious wrens

Sweet tea in my jar
A scolding crow
A traveling mind with -
no place to go

Firefly cotillions between seedling corn -
and the April stars
In the aura of the piedmont eve
By the light of a waxing moon
In the earshot of sylvan songs
'Neath the stalwart,  fragrant magnolias-
and the dogwood avenues
Koweta breezes seasoned with -
gardenia , evergreen and wisteria
Nurtured in the sacraments of fair -
Ono
Forevermore ....

You will find me in the petrichor of June
Look for a hummingbird at the window
Listen for the arousal of chimes in the springtide -
air
Pay attention to every autumn sunrise
The call of dove in the dew kissed October
morn
Sunlight reflecting across Decembers frosted plowland
The return of robins in March

I cherish the ever changing music -
of familiar streams , the vivid palate of -
colors in Hill Country scenes
The warble of the robins in March ,
The clamor of rock bass in the evening -
marsh
The veracity of springtide bees
The burgeoning blossoms of plum ,
honeysuckle and peach tree
I relish the well worn trails leading to shady dales ,
The whitewash pit , the gravel byway and -
the split rail fence
The song of locust in the midday broomsage
A chorus of wren , sparrow and bluebird -
along the hardtop shoulders
The greeting of yardbirds at the -
homestead border ...

A powder blue epiphany of -
cumulus figurines , dancing conifers -
and copious sun-showers
Roadsides teeming with daffodil ,
dogwood and wildflower
Burnt orange dusk , southbound -
waterbirds , violet vallies and -
silvered hillsides
Noble oaks brimmed with -
vociferous crows , jays and -
blackbirds
Wind driven brown grass disappearing -
into the western horizon
Village bells
Distant afternoon fires
Roosters calling for the day to close
The clang of Angus and Brahma coming home
Stars mingling with earthen shadow ...

The living room clock pounds like -
the framers hammer
The wood floor becomes an unintelligible -
ghost
The nostrils of a rail engine sojourner begin -
to shriek and moan , Alabama breezes rattle -
the chimes , the one o'clock tolling of the
town bell , the cries of the whippers , the thrush -
and the barn owl
Laden , eighteen wheelers thunder down the -
rural roads
Black and tans implore the Planters moon to -
'move along' , every crawling creature engaged-
in buzzing 'night song
June bugs tapping the windows , keeping -
time in the early morning crescendo ....