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Three Ways of Looking At A Bluebird 

                I

Sing on little bluebird 

of the wistful whistler.

The weary night traveler 

lonely but never alone 

head bopping to Vivaldi. 

Little bluebird sing on.

              II

Love is a dogwood tree. 

Sublime, silken blossoms 

falling, floating, feathery down 

fashion superb dressing gowns 

for springtime lovers

and bluebirds. 

             III

An erudite woman 

drank elderberry wine 

ate poke greens too

cooked up so devine.

No one knew a bluebird

had possessed her soul.

.

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​

Not Me​​

Silent seedlings sleeping

deep beneath stony ground

dressed in splendid dressing gowns

they wait patiently for spring to come.

In their dreams they climb upward

up

up

up.

 

I, knowing full well it takes a village

shout in sorrow:

“Did anyone make time to water the seedlings?”

​

Not me!

Said the Lady of Perpetual of Pride

skin worn thin

wrinkles deep as roots

trophies she’d won

but never admired.

Just one more nip and tuck

and she'll be made whole.

 

"Did anyone make time to water the seedlings?"

 

Not me!

Said the Mercenary Man of Self-Interest

he must make room for

one more house

one more shopping center

one more highway.

Cry for him! he is soulless

deaf to the sound of steel blades

gnawing, feeding, crunching

on the ancestral bones 

of those who came First.

They see! They hear! They speak!

​

I, knowing full well it takes a village ask:

"Will I make time to water the seedlings?"

Next spring, I say!

The moment of wonder

already eclipsed

by pressing needs of the day.

***This poem was inspired by the Indigenous Americans' continual fight to regain the tribal lands that were stolen from them. 

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