Camping in Springville

Camped underneath the stately cottonwood tree
Covered with new buds and awaiting spring
Splotches of sunshine fell on the meadow grass
While we pitched our tent
The hills were covered with the purple of lupines
Yellow mustard and white forget-me-nots
Spotting the occasional wild turkey
The river chilly from the snow melt
Mario catches a bass
When he cleaned it he found a live crawdad inside
The redbud trees were blooming
Tiny heart shaped leaves were just sprouting
The archers wandered up to the hills
To look for ground squirrels and things to plink at
The sound of hammer on metal ringing through the air
From the blacksmith's workshop
We had two spring days and one winter day
The pelting rain soaking our tent and canopy
While we rushed to pack up and head back to the city
My clothes and shoes soaked from slogging through the mud and rain
Powdery snow now dusting the hilltops
As we waved goodbye to old friends and new

After the Storm

The day dawned and I was still here

I had survived the emotional war

Next time I may not come back from the abyss

While I was sleeping last night I stopped breathing

I woke up abruptly gasping for air

It's stress I tell myself

Fallout from the last three days

I'm not so worried today

I feel better overall

Even though I have a terrible migraine

Still better than yesterday though

The sun is shining today

The warmth feels good even though I have to keep my eyes shut

Blue eyes are sensitive or so I hear

Selective Vision

How could I have been so obsessed with you to the point that I didn't even see it coming?

How could I have assumed you wouldn't wander off the minute I turned my back?

Oh yes there were clues, but then aren't there always?

It is only human to have selective vision.

To only see what I wanted to see.

WALLFLOWER

I am awake long past the time I should be awake

I think about the futility of life

And how fragile it is

How a few days without food or sleep or water can ruin us

How we are caught up in our own illusions

How we are perpetually lonely no matter how we try to cling to others

They have their own drama to live

Their own storyline to play out

We can dance with them for awhile but then the dance moves on

Spinning out of control and I am once again standing alone in a dark corner

My Poetry on Hubpages

Hubpages has a new system for categorizing articles. So now I'm going through all my poetry on that site bit by bit and adding both my blog RSS feed and an appropriate category. It took me a bit to find where the right categories were hidden. They are under writing, then you can use the pull down menu to go to poetry and then to what type of poetry like haiku or sestina. I also noticed that once you do an edit, the page won't reload until you add a category. Feel free to read my poetry and how-to articles over on hubpages.

Twila Reid Park on a Friday

Fat men in red shirts playing Frisbee golf
An electric blanket drying over a picnic table
A perfectly good playground with no one in it

Halloween Poem

Yay, I got my first poem published on Associated Content. It's a Halloween poem and you can view it here: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1099749/the_little_monsters_of_main_street.html?cat=10

I just signed up for Tagfoot. http://ping.fm/lfV6m Come see all my links and comments and my wishlist.

Want to join ping.fm too? Go to http://www.ping.fm.Use the code 'legendofping' and you could have the luxury of posting to all your blogs in one fell swoop like I do. Way more efficient than doing it one by one.

I'm not sure what 'ping my default' means but I guess I'll find out when I hit send.

Of what use poetry

http://hubpages.com/hub/Of-What-Use-poetry

My new poems are over at that link.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Flotillaa-poem

The week sure went by quick. I had a lot more planned but didn't have the energy to do it. My hands are still sore from woodcarving, and so I've had to lay off the knitting and crocheting. I'm looking forward to the weekend. My daughter may visit. We'll see.

Come view my Flickr photo stream. Over 3000 photos I've taken are waiting there for your pleasure. http://ping.fm/3TTAi

I just signed up for Ping.fm to make social networking more effiecient.

Ouch: A poem about heartbreak

OUCH

Life is like a collage
Full of torn and tattered bits
The piece of my heart that you stole from me
Your rages and your fits

I wasn’t the only one you hurt you know
There was that four letter word you call ‘wife’
I guess you weren’t planning to tell me about her
Your secret other life

Oh and what about your daughter
She’s only four or five
She won’t know why mommy is crying
While you go out for a drive

Well now I’m glad you dumped me
Biggest favor you could have done
But did you think I wouldn’t know
That now you and my best friend are having fun?

Oh I told her you were married
This best friend of mine
She said I was a liar
And her and you were doing fine

More Than Words

The whole universe lives in the library

Countries real and imaginary

Peoples mundane and unusual

All the food you could ever hope to consume in a lifetime

And you

I found you in the stacks on the third floor between botany and calligraphy

You seemed charming in your threadbare skirts

And tattered scarf

Your thick black rimmed cat's eyed glasses perched on your nose

You were fondling the spine of a book

Running your long fingertip from top to bottom

Then you gently pushed it back into line with the other books

And headed down the stairs

When I could no longer see the top of your head

I sidled over to have a look

"How to Build a Romantic Arboretum

Creating a garden that is as beautiful as you are."

I checked out the book to remind me of you

"Did you get anything good at the library?" my wife asked me.

"Just a book on gardening."

Poetic Muse

I just don't have many readers on blogger, so I've started posting some of my poetry over here too.

http://hubpages.com/profile/Poetic+Muse

Poetry,Homesick

Homesick

I miss the beauty of Central California
I long for the green rolling hills in the springtime that are sprinkled with grazing cows
I need to walk along Spooner’s Cove and feel the tumbled pebbles beneath my feet
To take a little harbor cruise on Tiger’s Folly past where the great blue herons nest
High up in the tallest grove of trees
I need to wade in the sand and feel for clams with my toes along Pismo Beach
I want to take long deep breaths of salty air by Morro Rock
And watch the kayaks gliding through the water near the sandbar
I want to experience the monarch migration that stops in Arroyo Grande
And see thousands of monarchs hanging like autumn leaves up in the eucalyptus trees
I even miss the cheesy farmer’s market in downtown San Luis Obispo every Thursday night
I still haven’t made it out to the Nipomo Dunes and we never did find the Indian caves
There is always more to explore
I miss the whales I spotted off of the Cayucos pier
And I am sad that I never took the time to paint in Mission Plaza
I will have to remedy that some day

The Power of Woman

The Power of Woman

We will not be suppressed
You can take away our homes
You can take away our children
You can cut us till we bleed
And beat us till our bones break
And still
We will have the innate power of creation
You can suppress us, repress us and depress us
But we will still be the light of the world
We the wives and lovers and mothers and sisters and daughters will take back the earth
We will tend nature’s garden
And raise orphans and the children born of rape
To do that we must learn not to be financially or emotionally or physically dependent on men
We must take back the night and our power
We are the moon pulling the tides of change
We are the Goddess within and the Goddess without

Frog

Frog in pond. Happy.
Frog hops away from crane beak.
Frog in road. Flat.