here lies creativity neath -
the sparkling boulders
a mayfly on my right shoulder
a swirl of sand ,
imagination tickled
a mud puppy darts -
timid , swift an fickle
songbirds of every color -
criss cross a living canopy -
of green
a miracle of hues -sight unseen
cobblestone drives , azalea borders
and orange butterflies
pine straw trails , placid water
falling acorns and cottontails
a rumble of Alabama thunder
a living festival of sylvan wonder ...

Cackling Mister Crow
Why do you make sport of me
Making fun of the very hand that feeds
You shop this yard at every morn for-
a free handful of cracked corn , relaxing atop
a public birdbath you've declared to be your very own
Tall pines to bask in the ten o'clock -
sun
Cool grass to hunt , hop , skip -
and run ....

Cackling Old Crow
You son-of-a-gun
Tromping through my garden for -
afternoon fun                                                              ­                                 You're a pirate with wings
A thief that sings
Hiding in a blackberry thicket with -
easy pickings
Standing at the feeder , scaring my chickens ....

Goodnight Mister Crow
Find a tall oak to rest
This farm would not be the same -
without my favorite pest
Do crow's dream I oft wonder
Dreams of airborne pillage and -
plunder

There is no perfume on earth -
that can equal the smell of fresh cut
grass
A June gardenia or morning wisteria
A Cherokee rose or July honeysuckle
rows
There's never been a scent bottled that could equal -
Mothers Tea garden in full summer throttle
No aromatic elixir available could ever-
compete with the 'tickle of the nose' from a -
homegrown tomato
Try to entice this southerner with a fragrance of such monumental -
power that it could pull him away from the lure of magnolia -
flowers
O how I envy the masonry soldier
A permanent sentry at the flower bed entry ...

A bench neath a pin oak
A black tea with an old bloke
A chance to call upon the old -
and the forgotten
A vow , secured with a handshake ,
to meet more often ...

A rickety swing without a rider
A sad rocking horse with no one to try her
A young couple clinging to each -
other
A mother , a father , a sister and a -
brother ...

A vendor selling snow cones
The lonely toiling with their -
cell phones
Gray and white pigeons making -
a living
A timeless love at it's very beginning ...

A toddler blowing bubbles
Every sphere in a windswept -
struggle
Traipsing the grass with colored balloons
Wild and free on a Saturday afternoon ...

I oft-recall the fume o'er -
Port lake
Egrets with the patience -
of Job
Lapping silver waters
Morning sun ever bright and bold
Harper tree frogs , smoky bogs , painted -
turtles on floating logs
Creations blue eyes at her -
surface
Wind dancers falling into -
the red earth , shores bedecked -
in dogwood , cattail , dandelion and
river birch
Brambles , feeder streams , nuthatch
and thrasher
Bluejays sing the praises of aromatic pineywoods -
high above their muscadine mansions
The crackle of gravel as I walk her shady , serpentine -
trails
The patter of wind seduced silver maples
The call and answer of sparrows along -
the barbed wire fence rail

Renewed shades of green
Blackbirds rejoicing among the -
wavering trees
Songs of springtide revival
Performers freed of winters bridle
April wind chimes that tingle to -
and fro
Wild Turkey's that forage the -
pecan row
Churning brooks with thoughts -
of the ocean
The 'fairyfly' dancers in evening devotion ...

-

White catalpa blooms caressed -
my soul
A morning jaunt through cool , knee high 'wiregrass'  -                         bound for Camp Creeks wisteria hollow
A cardinal was a long lost friend
A bluebird mourned of withered love
A mockingbird fervent in the hope -
of tomorrow