[the flicker . . .]

the flicker

of the black snake’s tongue

at the toe of my shoe

a taste of otherness

among the iris

Atlas Poetica 13, Fall 2012

[the book of wildflowers. . . ]

the book

of wildflowers

my mother bound—

among the brittle leaves

these four-leaf clovers

 Gusts 17, spring/summer 2013

[drifting. . . ]

drifting

toward sleep on the bank 

of the pond . . .

can sky-blue darning needles

mend my raveled dreams

Atlas Poetica 12, summer 2012

[wood thrush]

following

the wood thrush north

two thousand miles . . .

in his ultra-light pack,

            an accordion

Atlas Poetica 13, Fall 2012

a sow's ear

softly singing

I arrange my spices

A to Z—

the idea of order

on a kitchen shelf

coyotes

outside my dark window

the desire

to join them

running on all fours

sun and wind

enter my slow bones

replacing

the marrow of loneliness

with emerald moss

a girl-child

waits in the woods

within me

for jack-in-the-pulpit

to speak his first word

the story

of my life as a changeling—

this poem

a silk purse stitched

from a sow’s left ear

kernels  1:1, April 2013

[paw-paw pollen . . .]

paw-paw pollen—

I dust it bloom to bloom

with a tiny brush

my child once used

to paint the sun

Atlas Poetica 12, summer 2012

[eyespots . . .]

eyespots

on a butterfly’s

torn wing

my trust

in the universe

A Hundred Gourds 2:2, March 2013