Intrigued by the grain on a -
hardwood floor
Counting knots and connections
Ceiling reflections
The rumble of naked feet
Musical precision and random thought
The ocean surrenders with thundering -
breakers at the killing shore
Contemplating familiar doors
Fixated on a pane of glass
The odor from a bag of trash
A friend from 1990
Chariots thunder overhead
A blur in the funnel of anxiety ...

Gunshots split the silence over some forgotten ghetto as the bottle rockets explode over Palmetto
Sparklers dance in the night just as -
a Veteran gives up the fight
The sound of a cannon roars as fireworks -
illuminate abandoned streets , cracked sidewalks -
an abandoned stores
The air is filled with the aroma of hot dogs , hamburgers -
and beer
Townsfolk cheer as each projectile showers the -
sky
The sound of automatic rifle fire from the left and the -
right
The false echoes of battle o'er a small town
The cry of another American gunned down ...

to partake of the nectar along every-
flowering vine
to bathe in pools of August wine after sweet-
summer showers
to bask in sunlights midday power
to charm lovers neath oak canopies
to dine amongst the sassafras root , the
honeysuckle and the blackberry ...

Greenscapes , lavender flowers , -
thoughts of love and morning doves , bluejays sing praise to the sun above
Farm bells announce the dawn
The light of day , the hand of God -
caresses summer studded lawns
A tap on a hollow tree
Gardenia in the breeze
A shady respite
Fledglings call from silver-
maple nest
Crows toil in open fields
Black knights harvest , store -
and protect their yield ...

Minuscule oceans signal
The sun plays on the run
The equality of night , music of-
confused songbirds an brushing pine
Evening teardrops collect their prize
Damming the lame as well as the chastised
Whirlpools , swift green spirals
Charming the aware , the compliant ,
the mesmerized and the medicated , a
breathless survivor

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