Belonging in the Change

a tiny black wet

Schnoodle nose

nudges my arm as

marble-black eyes

covered with wild brows

peer up at me

from the camper seat

when I lift my arm

to raise my mug,

drink cold brew coffee

from my Halloween

Snoopy mug I truly

believe will make

the cool temperatures

arrive sooner ~

Fitz is slumped

against me,

seeking, too, all

the magic of

forthcoming fall

the changing

of seasons, gentle

wind blowing outside,

a tad early for the

acorns peppering the

camper’s roof but

all the rest of

the comfort of rituals

he knows as

reassuring trust

and belonging

in his forever family

Night Bloom

two summers ago

I bought a

night-blooming

Cereus for

ten dollars

thinking of

Dennis the Menace

getting in the way

of that plant that

blooms every 100

years and wondering

whether I’d be up

late enough to ever

see it bloom or

whether some

distraction would

forever keep me

from seeing it

but this very week

as a friend lost her

husband, this flower

bloomed in the dead

of night

like a smile from

Heaven