Out Loud

There stands a fat robin

on the limestone rocks

outside the window.

And on the tip of the

highest branch of

the peach tree

sits a hummingbird

that rises to do

a sky dance and settles

back down again.

There now is

a rusty red fox so casually

trotting down the

driveway into the

forest of words on my page.

How can these works of

nature make

my heart flutter up like

a single flapping wing?

Here I go again saying

this flower and that tree

or that whinnying pony

make me  so happy.

Isn’t it enough that I’ve

marveled and swelled

before and before that?

Is it necessary to do

ii one time more?

But that’s like saying

I prayed last Wednesday

and so I won’t open my mouth

again today or tomorrow

or next week.

Poetry rides in the flow

of blood that curses

through my veins.

It speaks in the

wind that tosses

the leaves

and blows the clouds

this way

and that.

It’s a matter

of

everyday

life

saying itself

out loud.

My Paintings on Display at 510 Warren Street in Hudson, New York

Some of my paintings will be on display for the month of June at 510 Warren Street in Hudson, N.Y.

The gallery is located in the heart of downtown Hudson and represents the work of artists from the Hudson Valley, New York City and Berkshire County.

The opening reception will be Saturday, June 1, from 3 to 6 p.m. I hope you will join me and several other artists working in diverse media and stylistic approaches.

What Ways Are There to Celebrate May?

In the meadow this morning are three horses brown white and grey

and today they are playing and whinnying and galloping and they just don’t stop

and

I think to

myself it must be

that they are feeling like me enveloped in the

warmth and

beauty

of spring.

What ways are there to celebrate May?

The dance of the hummingbirds lighting at the feeder

The sprouting of bleeding heart in the garden

The sudden appearance of a messy birds’ nest above the porch light

(with threads of blue twisted into the mix of brown twigs and grass.)

It’s just the most beautiful spring day

It is warmth and breeze and sunlight 

and a sky of blue crystalline perfection.

And whinny I would if I could to say a humble thank you God

for bringing me to this day to this season to all of my blessings

a house

my health

my grandchild

my husband

my children

my puppy dog

two sisters and a brother

a father and a mother in law

my dear friend Sharon

and on and on and on

like the endless shush and whisper of wind

the sweet twitter of birds

the scarlet tanager I saw with my very own eyes

oh and thanks too for these eyes

which help me to behold  

life and creation and bliss

and hands to write this

this poem.

Amen.

Dedicated to Mary Marino and Sharon Flitterman-King, two AMAZING human beings..

How It Feels and How to Change It

Ask me how it feels and I’ll say

Do you really want to know and

then I’ll tell you:

there’s a swamp rotting away in my gut,

and it’s flooded with something like gasoline

and yes, it will explode into flames if I

touch it with a match. Or, imagine this:

I’m a bear with raw bloody flesh hanging from

my vicious incisors. I shake my head and stare at

you with a savage look in my eyes.

My claws are poised to rip off your face.

Yeah, so, ok, I think that covers the emotions

scissoring through my chest this morning.

Enough of that. Now try this:

Inhale. Close your eyes and take the air

way down deep into your pelvis

and then keep it going until it fills your legs and feet.

HOLD YOURSELF FULL OF BREATH UNTIL

YOU THINK YOU MIGHT POP.

AND THEN DO ANOTHER BREATH

AND ANOTHER AND ANOTHER.

And don’t stop until you are

breathing calmly.

Now open your eyes and look out the

window at that itty bitty hummingbird

sitting on top of the shephard’s

hook. Gaze out into the lush green meadow

where the two brown horses are lazy grazing,

their tails switching.

Then stare at the red tulips and the pale

yellow daffodils in the garden.

Close your eyes again and type the word

SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN
SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN

Until you can see it make everything glow.

Remember this:

there are going to be

moments

so ravaging, so

difficult

you won’t

know how

to move

forward.

So don’t even try.

Just let your (s)words

fall into warm seafoam waters.

Lie back and float on the calm blue seas that

you create out of your own stanzas.

Be grateful that you have a basket full of

four-color images ready

inside your head

and whenever you want to

you can

pour them out on paper

until the crisis passes.