Evasion

There’s a nest in the attic
a tunneled mass of pulp
with territorial fiends inside.
I've watched them swarm for weeks
and sprayed the roof with poison.
They persist.

Fresh welts on my arms
and liable to more than myself
for allowing this to grow,
I need to go up there,
crawl through the old insulation
to find and destroy
that which could destroy me.

I’ll go in before first light
to unleash my defenses
then exit quick
and put the cover back.

Cryptic

Up at midnight
searching through words with unknown origins.
Prod is one
"to poke or rouse"
I consider my drive
and the depth of my pressure.

Dodge is another
"to elude or shift"
I wonder about all that I avoid
if my only choices are pursuit
or escape
and if I should try to find out.

The Current Returns

The pelicans feast and lizards dream
in the breezy intra-coastal.
Inlets feed and eat the ocean
the manatee aside the yacht.

Spend a tidal cycle there
feel and know
the power of our orbs
and all that they command.

Set a tune to the rhythm,
of elemental ways.
Shuffle possibilities
in the salty air.

Capsule

Let me dwell
in a mesh of fiddle and pedal steel
a strong drink and good friends
or books
a breeze
sip, laugh, ponder, dream.

Slow breath
a lover’s touch
easy sleep.
_______________________
reference: Windfall ~ Son Volt

January Fishing

An ice-lined bank
break a sheet to enter
a slow, cold seizing.

Steps across the winter current
for meditations to begin
cast, mend, drift
retrieve
feeding lines
to every seam and run.

Wade downstream
repeat the rituals
all depths
then to the shore.

A moment yet
for stillness
and the river’s flow.

Then a step through the icy edge
to go.