National Poetry Writing Month - April 10, 2014

It's crazy in my house! There are guys putting in new carpet, a new gun safe was just delivered, the dog is curious as hell. All of that doesn't mean that I will be shirking my responsibility to bring you poetry on a daily basis.

I saw a shadow that caught my imagination yesterday. I had put up a new American flag outside of the front door and with the wind and sunshine it made for a bit of inspiration.

Living Nature

The hug of spring warms the trees and ground

Melting away the frosty bite of winter

A bright shining eye looks down upon the flowers

And the fingers of the day caress the blades of grass

Warm breath of the breeze blows gently

Sending dark and light across the sidewalk

And across the shrubs near the house

The branches filling and emptying their lights blood

Voices on the air, singing bird songs

Chattering chipmunks and squirrels

An odd dog barks somewhere

Wanting to join in the glorious day

Quickly fading into blackness

Night falls on the streets 

Heat of the day is replaced

With the cool refreshing night

January 24, 2014 - 1250

It's quite the fashion to complain about the weather. Too hot, too cold, too much rain, not enough rain. If you live somewhere and it has weather, chances are you eventually complain about it.

I'm no fan of the cold in almost any manner. I drink a lot of ice water, and there was a time that I would enjoy more than my fair share of frosty beers with friends. Given the job that I do, there is a high probability that I will end up standing on the roadside with some yahoo who either violated some traffic law that caught my attention, crashed their car, or has flagged me down to play yet another rousing game of "Let's Give the Cop the Stupidest Question Possible".

However, this time I'm not going to complain. As I said, there's enough of that to go around. Instead, I wanted to say a few lines about the power of nature and the cold.

The Losing War

On the morning walk it was daylight. Well, light

I could look directly at the sun, through the heavy clouds

And not even squint. A fuzzy white blur in the sky

Yet strong enough to have me squint at the snow piled along the street

You could call it a breeze that blew through the neighborhood

If by breeze you meant an icy knife

Cutting through layer upon layer of Nylon, cotton, wool

And into my very being. A breeze like that

My boots crackled and crunched

On the packed and tamped remains of previous snowfall

Easy to walk, less so to run and play with her

Treacherous with the hidden water frozen underneath

Warm inside the house we had breakfast

Watched TV shows and remarked to nobody on the shaking walls

And rattling windows. There was a brief flash of the lights

A blink in time as the Matrix reset itself

I'll end up out there today again

More than once I will brave the wind and muted sun

We will walk outside again to take care of the baser needs

Before she heads upstairs and I head out there

Man against the elements; it's a classic tale

We armor ourselves against Mother Natures onslaught

Taking up the fight everyday to get to work or store

In a battle that ultimately we never win

January 28, 2013 - 0900

This originally started out as what I call a "snippet". Just a little bit of verse or a few lines that I save and hope to fill out into something later. I ended up writing the whole thing in about 20 minutes.

Coyotes

It was the deepest part of the night

Just before it becomes morning

As the dog and I walked

In our dark neighborhood

From my right I heard

A coyote bay

A sharp, long, lonely sound

A lost friend. A sad cry

We walked on; it didn't seem close

But who could tell

Echoes and trees have a way

Of distorting a sounds direction

Then from the left

Another coyote calls

Answering a friends call

Friends finding friends in the blackness

At first, I smiled

Nature at it's most natural

Two scavenger-predators

Out for a meal and a chat

But the baying kept on

My dog, oblivious to the potential danger

Kept at the business of her business

Nose to the ground, ears missing her kin

I understood what was happening

At least, I felt like I did

We were being watched

We were being followed

Turning us back towards the house

The call and respond followed

Down the sidewalk and to the driveway

Never getting closer, always following

I let out my breath as we went inside

They couldn't get in our house

My grip relaxed on the butt of my pistol

My dog begged for her treat

December 5, 2011 - 0300

I was driving on the nearby Army base when I heard a variety of sounds. I stopped my car and turned off the radio and the heater so that I could get a better handle on what was going on around me.

Nature Being Natural

In the dark

In the cold

All around I can hear

Nature being natural

I can hear

The wings of an owl

The feathers rustling on

The icy night wind

I can hear

A coyote howling

At the brightly shining

Cloud covered moon

I can hear

Deer in the shadows

Hooves walking well worn paths

In the unmown grass

I am surrounded by structure

Buildings and streets and civilization

But when I stop and pay attention

I can hear nature being natural