How did you get in
and how long have you been perched
at my kitchen sink?
Do not be afraid
O small intrepid brown wren
Though I know you must
And tell you, I must
the only way to free you
is to frighten you
away from the glass
toward the wide open door
Please forgive the chase
I'm sorry we can't
explain civilization
or clear view windows
~dkm 25/52
I was afraid of
exactly this when I switched
to weekly haiku
That I would forget
not to notice but to tell
of the noticings
The act of seeing
things I'd never slowed enough
to attend before
is now imprinted
in the overt actions of
my daily routine
But six days I skip
the elusive wish to put
pencil to paper
Though I grieve over
the losing of such white hot
writing intentions
it can be enough
to be graced with the moments
of fine noticings
This, for instance. This
jelly-like growth that looks like
a brown cabbage leaf
~dkm 24/52
It froze overnight
After yesterday's cold rain
Ice on glass table
Leaves brushed from surface
Leave their own likeness behind
Natural ice sculptures
~dkm 23/52
One thirty pm
Winter in Georgia. Beauty
at its simple best
Being from Kansas
my dad always marveled at
our tall loblollies
~dkm 22/52
Four seasons have passed
The world is different now, yet
So little has changed
One year in the life
of a tree that could live to
be fourteen hundred
~dkm 21/52
After a full year
of daily haiku entries
from the same backyard,
plus eleven years
of longer essays, one might
expect that one had
exhausted all the
possible observations
on which to write. Wrong.
Twenty some odd growths
show up overnight in lawn
Brown Dog Turd Fungi
So named not because
they grow on poo, but because
they resemble it
Apt name, methinks and
alarming to discover
one late afternoon
~dkm 20/52
Precious pine siskin
Flew against my window pane
Heartbreaking stillness
~dkm 19/52
An irruption year
for pine siskins in Georgia
driven by climate
Here by the dozens
I counted nineteen at once
perched on the feeders
From same family
as American goldfinch
Shared genus: Spinus
Smaller, but louder
meowing like their cousins
sounding like kittens
Sometimes they raise a
hint of a crest on the top
of their dainty heads
Not the least bit shy
these cute small streaky brown birds
with yellow edged wings
don't fly as soon as
most, at Backyard Spectator's
approach with camera
They all stare right back
Curious or aggressive?
Size of a large thumb
~dkm 18/52
Sixty-five year old
Cherry trees in deep decline
White lichen the sign
They've exceeded their
40 year expectancy
by twenty-five years
Breathtaking gifts to
the world each spring, yet they've asked
nothing in return
Lichen does no harm
Mother nature's housekeeper
Gives beauty to death
~dkm 17/52
Deep breath of blue sky
Cleansing the spirit, the heart
body, mind, and soul
~dkm 16/52
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| Chickenhouse retreat in Marietta, GA |
