Darkness

Somewhere between white, yellow and pink the street lights glow and reach out in nearly touching circles 
Few sounds rise from the ink, a ways off a light muffled gong notes the early hour while wet powerlines sing
Some kites or swallows or other dark bird chirps and swoops just overhead, just outside the visible space
A brake light glows at the extreme corner of view then pales then fades completely, consumed in dark peace

Quiet Place

The room is dark, sound not penetrating through the molasses
A small flick of a switch and the walls explode with texture and form
Yet silence still hangs in the air, just below the reach of the fluorescent tubes
Pages of an ancient book turn slowly, bringing a grand symphony to the inner ear

A Small Stone

A  round stone sits still on the waters edge
Unmoving it changes with the falling sun
Shiny gray as the rain drops coat its surface
Fire bright orange as Helios flames on the horizon
Turning dark as peepers sing to the rising stars

Pile of Sticks

A knee high pile of sticks from the plum tree rests against the shed
Rain falls from the overhang, lands soflty and runs down the stack
Bright dark-pink petals spring from cuts and  little twigs throughout 

Fat Quail

Eight feathered creatures scury across the near-desert floor
Colors brighter than expected and overweight for this time of year
Picking at seeds and insects, moving fast at every sound
The big one stands high on rock or stump, watching for coyotes or little boys

Night owl

A ghostly presence flies up from the drive
Feather's fluffed and reflective in the headlamp
Narrowly missing the tempered glass
It glides above the factory lot
Circling against a dark sky

Desktop

School bus colored pencil with broken lead and a nub of eraser
Sits upon an octagonal face alongside a half dry finepoint pen
Smoke-gray tape dispenser with most of a roll lies on its side
Snapshots of my three, their spouses and grandchildren
Pieces of notes left on a scrap of paper at all angles and fonts
Office noises, a phone rings over the wall, someone giggling