Common Threads

 

Fun Times!

he said at breakfast his favorite 

parts of the Science Center were

in the planetarium

sky show and making fans

in innovation 

and the fossils

and geodes ~

what fun

times!

 

Adventure 

Adventure Science Center, Nashville

Interactive exhibits for kids

planetarium combo:

welcome rest in the dark

youngest grandson napping 

as the sun sets~

sky pictures 

light up

dreams! 

 

Christmas in August 

Christmas shopping in a Dollar Tree

even though it’s only August 

with three of our grandchildren

parents at a wedding 

gave them each five bucks

the humor of

Christmas Day

awaits 

them

we

became

personal

shopping elves like 

they used to have in

the early seventies 

at Rich’s in Atlanta

so kids could shop in secret and

learn the fine art of choosing good 

      gifts 

 

Perplexing

last pre-planning day 

what exactly does that mean? 

how does one pre-plan? 

by definition, 

isn’t pre-planning planning 

where we plan to plan? 

these teachers’ workdays 

are professional meetings 

planning nausea

same with post planning –

do we plan in retrospect? 

back to the future? 

such curious terms 

make us stop and scratch our heads… 

how does this make sense?

 

Be Still and Know

my mind and body

have to get up and go, though

my spirit protests 

I want to stay home!

three weeks was a too-short break

more vacation, please

I’m locked into this

world of constant work that won’t 

be still and know things 

 Retirement Nonet

I don’t only need a vacation. 

I need a full-fledged retirement. 

Let me pass the torch at work. 

Let me linger longer. 

Let me read more books. 

Let me sleep in. 

Let me write. 

Let me 

breathe…..

 

South Georgia Trouble Brothers: a Costa Rican snooze haiku 

South Georgia born boys 

rooted in denim cutoffs 

and backyard gardens

homemade soap with lye

preachers’ kids: troublesome types!

regular scrubbings

fast forward the clock

still trouble – even asleep!

old habits die hard

two brothers sacked out

on a Costa Rican couch

vacation: sheer bliss!

symmetrical snooze:

feet propped on coffee table

elbows cradling heads

pillowy comfort

pajamas – shorts and t-shirts

eyelids block lamplight 

Wait. Binoculars??

oh, the ironic lenses! 

who is watching whom?

upon waking, they’ll

seek the day’s adventure – a

game of golf and beer

from cast iron lye soap

to pampering massage oils

these two have it made! 

 

treat time

snuggled up to me

Is where Fitz most likes to be 

in bed, anytime 

when Dad kisses Mom,

Fitz gives a “fierce” warning snap

a chaperone at work! 

but get the treats out 

and two boys head for the couch-

their morning routine! 

 

Funny Farm Turkey Figs

(A bowl of fig haikus) 

three-dollar clearance 

scratch and dent fig twig on sale 

…so we brought it home 

Funny Farm fig tree 

established 2009 

nurtured, fertilized 

20 feet tall now 

bulging purple turkey figs 

from a litter‘s runt

 

denim cutoff shorts 

and an old outdoor t-shirt

on the tractor lift 

raised to the tip-top 

in the green John Deere bucket 

reaching the high boughs 

instant pot unpacked 

fresh figs quartered and sugared 

lemon juiced, honeyed 

apron strings knot past: 

grandmothers, mother – to now: 

me and my children 

generational 

memories keep our heart strings 

ever-connected 

kitchens are the heart 

of every home – wooden spoons 

stirring more than foods

fresh fig preserves done! 

mason jars, lids everywhere! 

aromas tempting 

luscious, tart – nature

yields something big in a fig 

can’t wait to dig in! 

coffee, buttered toast 

crispy bacon and poached eggs, 

hand-picked fig preserves 

dinner on the farm 

is fine dining at its best: 

simple, local, fresh!

 

Prime Time Modern Sonnet 

(Read in Landscape view for line formatting)

swirls of the whirlpools of kayak paddles

propelling a vessel across a lake

sit-in or sit-on and body-straddle

the ripply-rocking of speed-boaters’ wake

snake-tonguish flames licking marshmallow s’mores 

strobe-lighting delight in partakers’ eyes 

campfires, fireflies, and twilights outdoors 

stoking and kindling what money can’t buy

soul-resting lulls of hammocks in shade trees

cradling comfort for peace-seeking minds

stress disappears like feathers on breezes 

deep, restful napping the spirit soon finds

savoring moments and seeking life’s prime

love is the depth of the ways we spend time