Ardor
broken
cut off
dismissed
erupting
fever
gnawing
hating
imploring
joking
kick­ing
lovingly
mulling
nothing, no one
only
praying
quietly
roaring
silvery
triumph
unanimous
vim
wo­olgathering
x-rays
yielding
zen, zest

Was woken early by winter bird song
took a look outside to find
it's time to cut the lawn
mere weeks after the winter solstice

take global warming personally???
you must be joking!!!
on goes the heat at full blast
will be driving a thousand miles this week

but the water isn't rising where I am
problem filed
my children's children?
well, they'll have to deal with it

when the proverbial really hits the fan
meanwhile, I'm doing ok
sent money to flood victims on the other side of the world
there's a heatwave in Australia they said on the news

I do hate those prophets of doom and gloom
what do they know anyway???
just trying to frighten us
that's what they're doing

more plastics in the ocean than fish???
that's bad alright
shouldn't have left my trash on the beach the other day
you're right

anyway, I can't do much about global warming
if everyone made tiny changes it could make a difference
is that what you're saying???
so, what's your tiny change for a doomed planet???

Blood-thirsty
the hounds were clipping my heels
panting, jeering
teeth showing

breath bereft
the lion's roar ceased
dying, faltering
ghost crumbling

light flickering
neither flight nor flight
doable, practical
discretion spent

outwitted
the lion lay low
willing, hankering
death by hideous hounds

a stranger to
fiery forces
converging, composing
resounding resurrection

eardrum busting
the lion's roar roasted the hounds
easing, mending
spirit rising

horizon spanning
my breath took hold
expanding, binding
fragments of me

She took the sheep's fluffy wool
wrapped you in it
head to toe and beyond
until you could no longer see, nor hear, nor find your way out

She began twisting the sheep's fluffy wool
span you in
head to toe and beyond
you no longer wanted to see, nor hear, nor find your way out

She wove lines and patches
measured you up
head to toe and beyond
making you see, hear, and find your way out

She took you by the hand
put you in front of the mirror
head to toe and beyond
you could see, hear, and find your way out

of the sheep's fluffy wool
into the blanket ever so soft
head to toe and beyond
draped to see, hear, and find your way in

The taste of plastic in my mouth lingered until the day
you said my kisses tasted of passion fruit

After my father threw himself off the balcony on the 31st floor /
my mother never washed another silver spoon / her heart and hands
too busy to bother with such trivialities / instead consumed by the task of sheltering exposed bodies

But the kids at school could smell my plastic breath and laughed /

My paper rounds paid for chocolate on Sundays /
and trips to nowhere in particular during summer holidays /

my clever mind and my mother's stokes and pokes
drove me through college

Still, the taste of plastic on my tongue diddled silly doodles /
the fear of heights stuck on / until the day

you said my breath tasted of passion fruit