Thunderhead

Clear hot sky with only a small cloud way across the valley
Temperature falls, air rushing with an edge as the cloud rises
A misty wall appears then approaches, sweeping the lake's surface
Flashes of light, tree shattering cracks and ice falls ever nearer
Rainbow fish now biting and getting bigger, no need to move just yet

Job Interview

He's sitting there, waiting, wiating for the future
New tatoo's ornate his forearms though his roof is gray
Confident patter quickly changes to nervous utterance
As problems of math and technology stare him in the eye
Now he sits pondering the past while we determine his future

Arch Nemesis

In the choicest place of the yard the earth erupts

Pushed during the night by the little mole, again

Never see him but it's clear where he's been

In a war of attrition the victor is seldom the biggest

Honey Bees

The mock orange tree by the window is in full bloom,
dark green leaves behind large grape-clusters of white flowers
Bees work everyone they touch, feelers feeling along the path
Their long tounges rapidly enter the fragrant fleshy folds
Often tumbling with the tiny nectar cups as they pull loose
Though not falling too far before grabbing onto the next meal
The ground is covered with a multitude of browning spent petals
 

Early Morning

The unseen killdeer is softly chirping just overhead
The air is cool and crisp yet moist like a fresh chilled apple
The velvet black sky gives way to a continuum of blues on the horizon
The mossy turf gives easily, all is very still, very quiet

End of Days

With the backlight of a mist-draped egg-yolk sun
the dark blue hills move closer each minute of the Light's retreat
Purple and red rise- painting the underbelly of each cloud layer
Half circle diminishes at a constant pace, igniting a fantastic evening glow

Nightshade

Dark hands drag past the numeric elements of time
Silently the face smirks with the hours of inactions
Sleek gray cabinets and overhead compartments
Stand and hang around the carpeted cubicle walls
Formica pattern-dots of differing blues and silver merge
Reflections from flourescent and cathode tubes fall short
Quietly failing to draw the gray matter to consiousness

Red Bird

Litlle red bird on the edge of the feeder
You appear as a type of finch in shape and size
Oh I wish I could remember your name
But alas it has flown from my mind
as fast your friends from that orange tabby

Peer Group

Six of us sitting around the graveyard lunch table
Sharing a meal with "foodies" and barbarians
The lights are low in the wee hours of night
Each a history, a song, joke or insight
Each a chapter in a new story

Requiem

Sitting on the pews waiting for the review

Gray hair, glasses, canes and hearing aids

A great man has lived and now passed

A young man with spiked orange hair sings

strumming his instrument carefully, prayerfully

The old man would have enjoyed it 

Bark Dust

Thin ruddy splinters in immeasurable number
Smells fresh, aromatic, sweet, earthy and woody
Flies easily in a light breeze as the loader loads it
Filling my nose, eyes and covering the truck lightly
Much of it hot to the touch, steaming even smoking

Chubby Green Worm

Smooth elastic skin stretched over its soft bulbous frame
Segmented like a long balloon tied with several strings
Front and back look much alike but for very small features
In undulations of black legs and rising powder-mint green
The little dirigible slowly drifts its way across the grass

Luke

One shoe on and one shoe off, pocket of rocks 
Music from TV commercial or cell phone ring
He bounces his feet, taps them, turns in circles
Only a handfull of teeth make up his wide grin
Clapping, turning, tapping, bouncing, grinning
Not 2 feet tall, not 2 years old, not a problem

A New Project

Starting in earnest to write a stone each day in July. Below are July 1-3's installments (had some computer issues). Thank you Fiona for ths opprotunity to do this again.

Four Men at Table

Four men gather at the table in the diner
One orders oats and toast with a few raisins
A cup of hot water to wash it down
Man Two  has a small dish of non-descript fruit
He also has toast and a cup of hot water with lemon
Three and four both had the special with links and bacon
Three had Four's sausage and Four got Three's bacon
Three drank dark coffee dark, no creamer no sugar
Four drank several glasses of ice water including Two's

Strawberries After the Rain

Next to the garden a line of stones defines a little patch of strawberries
Vines extending out to fill the space and then some, new plants everywhere
Small red fruit hangs just out of site beneath the dark green leaves
Little pill bugs and smaller slugs take refuge in the ripest and lowest ones
Behind them the raspberries stand erect against the house, spreading as well
Only small white flowers at their ends along with delayed green promises

Blue Jay

Sky blue blending to white
A dark feather resemling an eylash above his eye
Larger than the robins and starlings that he easily chases off
He eats his fill of the seeds laid out and scatters the rest
An orange tabby lays nearby in the sun, unmoved