Common Threads

 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 

 

Savoring the Moment

Fresh-ground coffee brewing, 

        plooking into the pot~

             aromatic vapors swirling 

Warm cinnamon rolls beckoning 

        breakfasters, gooey glazed globs

              awakening appetites 

Saturday morning, bare feet plunking

        down the stairs, ticky-toe

              terriers in tow… 

Pajama plans for a rainy autumn

        morning: listening to pelting drops,

              feeling the hygge of home

Four Schnauzer brows, eyes locked 

   on the glazed globs, inviting 

       bedheads to their #guiltparty

…..until…..

      a polite paw reminder

           

          …then a second notice  

               these two working in tandem 

  

      teaming up to score a bite 

          

                       before a cozy lap nap

                

 

Uphill Climb

An uphill climb looms

Runners dread the hills

But oh – the finish! 

 

Chincoteague Nonet 

Annual Chincoteague Pony Swim:

saltwater cowboys on horseback

parade ponies down Main Street.

Misty of Chincoteague

made it world-famous ~

96 years,

now cancelled! 

Covid 

sucks.

 

Faith

The journey begins

into the great unknown. Faith

is the guiding light.

 

Van Gogh, Atlanta

Immersive art exhibit 

Inside a painting 

Choose space on the floor 

Watch Vincent’s paintings emerge

On the room canvas

Spectacular lights

Bold, vivid color palette

He was color blind??

Gaze up: Starry Night 

Skeleton skull, cigarette

smokes through eye sockets

The Mulberry Tree,

A Field of Yellow Flowers,

Daubigny’s Garden

Flowerpot with Chives,

Fisherman’s Wife on the Beach,

Farmhouse Among Trees

Sunflowers, Two Crabs

Farmers Planting Potatoes

Potato Eaters

Poppies, Irises,

Enclosed Field with Rising Sun

Field with Two Rabbits

Last? Wheat Field with Crows 

Wheat field represents turmoil

Suicide sadness

Resurrection: crows

Harbingers of pain and death

His depression won 

And about that ear:

Failure with women caused this?

So he lent an ear?

Sealed in envelope

and delivered to brothel 

Was it even signed? 

Much to consider

in the chaotic beauty 

of Vincent Van Gogh