Poem Eleven---Tumble

Stretched out before me, Green and lush is the meadow,  Dotted with brindle cows,  Cropping the grass serenely, Until startled by the  New tumbleweed-- A blowing Walmart bag.

Poems Nine and Ten---Highway Haiku

#9

Am I going east or west?
Crisscrossing the map,
Back and forth, I can forget!

#10

My windshield shows season change-
Scraping bugs or ice,
Says summer or winter's here.

Poem Eight - Night Ride

Glide on velvet blackness,
Dotted road and spangled shine,
Car-whoosh,
Skunk-stink,
Moonlit lake shines past,
Motor-hum and flower scent,
Radio song,
Headlight stabs,
Moonlight glows,
Crickets chirp.

Poem Seven - Lallie

She's laughing as she always did,
Head back, mouth wide,
Sparkling eyes scrunched almost shut.
In this picture posted by a friend,
She's with us again,
Laughing at something funny Bill did.
Her sense of the outrageous
Fully engaged.
I can almost hear her,
Almost forget that she's gone.
I want to ask her what's so funny,
And hear her raspy  laugh
As she tries to explain.
We miss that.
How we miss you.

Poem Six - Rocket Dog

We will miss you, Rocket-dog.
Your play-growl that didn't fool us,
The game you taught us,
Where we'd blow at your muzzle
And you'd snap at our breath.
Your warm dog body grew cold today,
Your breath stilled,
And we cried to let you go.
I sometimes wonder why
The Creator gave dogs short lives.
It's not how I would have chosen.
Wait for us, Rocketty.
We'll be there some day.

Poem Five: Southern Kid Food, ca 1960

Tastes from my childhood:
Potted meat on white bread,
Kraft macaroni and cheese,
Canned spinach,
Boxed spaghetti and sauce,
Vienna sausage,
Creamed dried beef on toast,
Peanut butter and mayonnaise,
Apples warm from the reading tree,
Hamburger and Veg-All in
A barbecue sauce over buns,
Tuna and noodles with
Cream of mushroom soup,
Biscuits with cheap steak bits in gravy,
Cornbread dressing and
Canned cranberry sauce,
Ambrosia of oranges and pineapple,
Mixed with coconut,
French toast cut into shapes,
Peanut butter fudge still grainy with sugar,
Mashed potatoes with real lumps
And tiny green peas mixed in,
Cheese grits,
Pineapple Upside Down Cake,
Banana pudding.
We weren't poor.
We just didn't have money.
Looking down the list, I see
Both parents cooked for us.
I see
Just how rich we were.

Poem Four: Tornado

Sky: grey, sparked
Electric fireworks,
Slanting rain, sound of wind
So maddening, fierce,
Trailers spring up and dance,
Dance a tarantella,
Whirling over others
Tumbling end over end.