Category Archives: Poem
Haiku–Solitude
A simple pine cone: lying alone on the ground. It needs a squirrel. (top: dreamstime.com; bottom: flickr.com)
Haiku–No Glasses
Seeking fresh protein, a small fuzzy morning bird walks up a tree trunk. (top: lynxed.com; bottom: vickiehenderson.blogspot.com)
Bastards of Pain
So, what do you do when the bastards of pain camp on your front porch? Do you politely ask them to leave? Or do you wade into them with rage and a machete? Usually, with pain—physical, emotional, whatever—the bastards like … Continue reading
Bluebird Words on a Raptor Day
Seldom does it do any good to read a poem as you fall asleep. The page flashes two, three times and suddenly you know there is no going on. Surrender is sweet. Sometimes, the unread poem gets trapped and the … Continue reading
Snow Poem
(Note: It’s 93 here, so I’ve been thinking of snow. We Oregonians are heat wimps.–jrs) Snow time: gift wrap around all I can see from my perch by the Christmas morning fire. Small tracks split the front yard, seeking sleigh … Continue reading
Reminders in Early July
(The Fourth is a grand holiday. It’s my sister’s birthday. We live in a truly great country where we are mostly safe and enjoy opportunities rare in the big picture. Most often, I am proud to be American. But… –jrs) … Continue reading
Table Circle
Laughter in the house tonight: small voices grow large spilling down the race of conversation around the table with its rattling dice cup. All support every roll. Applause abounds. Life will roll on, a collection of memories: sweet, bitter, sour, … Continue reading
Convenience Kills
Brilliant colors, white, clear, black– attack my shoreline with a ferocity that indiscriminately kills creatures born to breathe and eat water; even when they eat each other the cycle doesn’t stop. Bent, broken, large, small, infinitesimal: it is indestructible. Long … Continue reading
Peace and Fire
We kissed: lips groping without knowing, hands benign and trembling, timid and still. You were a gift I did not understand. I had no way to accept the strange dichotomy of peace and fire. When I moved away to California … Continue reading
Big Rocks — Little Rocks
“Time to make little rocks out of big rocks.” Work is work. I remember: cold clouds slung low, soaking all of us, men and machines thundering through my earplugs and muffs as a thousand drummers play with wild abandon. I … Continue reading



