Man in Café

You can see

in his pose

how much he enjoys

that mug of coffee

at his lips:

the raised elbow,

the head tipped slightly back,

the rapt look.

Then, with what
diligent focus

he peels and eats

bite by bite

the long banana.

The strips of skin fall dangling

from its slender curve

becoming stump.

His gaze is focused, 

calmly intent. 

But underneath 

the straight-legged chair 

his sneakered feet 

are kicking up

in a tiny, involuntary 

joy-dance.


Based on a series of photos by John Palcewski.

I Open the Door

I open the door

on a cool, clear 

Autumn morning.

A chorus of birds

rises over the hill.

From Both Sides Now

My back yard is clear and sunny, even if a little chilly this autumn morning. I open my front door and there’s dense grey fog to the rooftops on the other side of the street; behind them nothing, everything gone.

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When all's said and done, it is calming to be able to stand in one's back yard, surrounded by trees, on a mild night, under the full moon (not quite obscured by cloud), pour a libation to Nature, perform a simple ritual and say some prayers.


(I looked at this next morning — this morning — and realised it could be a small stone too.)