Common Threads

Web

walking three leashed dogs 

in this cool, crisp morning air 

they’re weaving a web 

Autumn Pantoum 🍂 

the first day of fall

arrived late last night after

Deep Clean Exhaustion 

Windex the windows 
   Inside, out 
Tilex tiles
   including grout 
Murphy’s the baseboards
   and the doors 
Shark-steam-clean 
   the wooden floors
Webster ceilings, walls
and fans
Load dishwasher
Scrub the pans
Vacuum rugs
   downstairs and up 
Change the sheets 
   make pillows fluff
Sweep the porches 
   front and back 
Scour the toilets 
   take out trash 
Shine the counters 
   Dust the chests 
Then sit down 
   and take a rest! 

The Best Reason

you are the one 
whose picture I keep pinned 
above my desk 
for days that I wonder
why I do this 

you were my best reason
for teaching  
1999: new student
bruised arms, far too thin
you stood 
in my classroom doorway 
with your grandmother 
holding her hand 

after she left school
you had a complete meltdown
began breaking pencils 
in triads with your bare hands 

so many broken pencils
scattered across the floor 

your speech was slurred 
you had tell-tale tics
I wondered 
about your story 
learned your grandmother 
was your angel 
a savior who stepped 
in and saved your life 
because daddy was gone and
mama had beaten your ears 
so severely with shoes 
that you could barely hear 

when I spoke 
you tilted your head 
at a sideways angle 
to put your one able ear 
in position to listen 

you took most of your lunch 
to your backpack 
to share with your siblings 
because 
there wasn’t much 
with six of you 

I knew you were sharing 
even hungry yourself
I started slipping in extras 
for you to find later 

you were a child 
ahead of your years 
knew things your peers did not 
were the smartest student 
in the class 
Principal’s Honor Roll 
the kid in Coke bottle glasses 
who couldn’t hear 
whose smile brought tears 

and still does
when I look at that picture
of you and your grandma
smiling in the cafeteria
on Math Night 

you are the best reason 
that I kept teaching

The Boxing Ring

I watch him 
from my chair 
as he saunters 
through the room
in no hurry 

he stops

his eyes lock 
on his brother
lying in his path 

it’s a stare down 
until one blinks 

he chins the floor 
front legs flat 
backside straight up 
tail wagging 

ready! 

he pounces forward 
raises up 
like a Lipizzaner  

brother leaps sideways
nips at his heels 

oh, it’s on!  

they tackle 
roll 
tussle
growl
oomph 

freeze again 

stand up
on their back legs 
like two boxing hares 
two-foot hopping left and right 
front paws scrapping
in a full-force show 

until they hear the crinkle 
of the treat bag 
because Dad is leaving for work 

they come to attention 
straighten their haloes
sit like perfect angels
by their better-behaved brother 
until rewarded
treats in mouth 
they head off 
to three separate corners 
of the ring

because 
when it comes to treats 

they don’t play 

The Intruder

Life forever changed
the day the intruder
entered our house

I hid in a bottom drawer-
closed myself in-
and listened,
fell asleep 

I heard frantic voices
throngs of people 
in our house 
when I woke
a blinding flash of light
when the drawer opened

My aunt scream-cried
“She’s here!”

my mother rushed in
picked me up,
hugged me tight 
sobbing her relief

they called off the search
took me into the den
to prove I was alive –
   (for the moment) 

and there I spotted
the intruder 

all swaddled in a
blue blanket
in the arms of
MY grandmother 
like she was HIS.

The little brat. 

Eyes

in the woods at night

the flashlight at dark reveals

unseen creatures’ eyes

Staying Home

making decisions

loving mostly dogs only

not socializing

avoiding sickness

dogs don’t pose a grave concern

certain talkers do 

introvert’s Heaven

safe from political germs

practice prevention