Birds Crown Cinquain

I watchCanada geeseFly over the riverUnder early morning sunlightIn fall UphillBald eagles nestPhotographers line upPraying for epic photographsTo sell MagpiesAre socialitesThey care for each otherSimply intelligent creaturesSo smart HairyOak woodpeckers Chase each other aroundWhat a wonderful sight to seeThem play BirdingAccidentallyWhile hiking round the lakeWish I could stay out here all dayAlone I watchBald eagles…

Wednesday blog and quotes

On Wednesdays, we wear pink. (Not just because it’s a Mean Girls quote, but because I am actually wearing pink right now.) On Wednesdays, I go to trauma therapy, which involves some intentional provoking of flashbacks in order to process them. (It’s hard.) My mind feels like it’s reeling too much to write anything very…

September Poetry Challenge

Tehachapi In Tehachapi, it felt like the wind would blow us off the mountain In Tehachapi, we found dozens of endangered Bakersfield cacti In Tehachapi, we stood at the feet of sky-scraping wind turbines Hiking breezy PCT peaks between Mojave and San Joaquin Scarves over our faces to keep the sand out of our eyes…

Greenish

My entry for Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge: Greenish Ducks in a green Putah Creek, UCD (University of California, Davis) Arboretum. An egret greeting its mate in the middle of a pond on Putah Creek, UCD Arboretum California Buckeye sprout, Sierra Nevada Foothills Macro shot of two mushrooms blooming in moss, Sierra Nevada Foothills Wild Canyon…

Hiking Crown Cinquain

HikingOn Steven’s TrailColfax, four miles each wayNorth Fork American RiverAutumn ColfaxBig attitudeFor a small roadside townThe cashier flashes a fake smileMy way SunriseCoyotes howlGround my feet to the earthNearby squirrels screech from bobcat’s jawsThat’s life RiverEphemeralFierce enough to drown meStrong, beautiful, and powerfulCurrents AutumnRed, yellow leavesMixed among evergreensDesolate wilderness singingI’m home HikingBig attitudeGround my feet…

Lessons From Nature Haibun

Supple Opal Surrounded by supple spring hens on the first day of school, I can’t help but wonder, am I not attractive anymore? Autumn Valley hikeBarren Yosemite FallsZero water drops I walk around campus, feeling like a ghost. A stunning twenty-something-year-old is hiding behind the art building, crying on the phone. “Why am I not…

Lady Slippers

Lady slipper orchids shiverYoung new hybrids thrive upriverConstruction cranes steal full sunPhotosynthesis stops, stunnedLight no longer deliveredBlooms yearn for life, yet witherLady slipper orchids shiverYoung new hybrids thrive upriver Written for Poetry Form: Octelle by dVerse

Sir Francis Drake

I text him, “Friend signal, help,” and thirty minutes later, he’s at my door. “Would going to the ocean help?” he asks. He drives me to Point Reyes. I get drunk on the way. “We’re going to die!” I scream, as he speeds down Sir Francis Drake Boulevard “Relax,” he says, “Close your eyes, if…

Memories of Yosemite

Memories of meandering Yosemite in Spring Snow flakes melding to my cheeks Occupying Bridalveil Fall’s viewing point beneath Standing under a redwood branch ceiling Feeling nothing but my heart beating Take me back to that February Let’s leave 2022 behind, and go Feeling alive, capturing photographs of Firefall Sun reflecting El Capitan through Horsetail Creating…

Arkquains

RoseDaisySunflowerTiger lily Bought myself flowersDon’t know what to feed them, thoughSugar, lemon, pizza dough?What do flowers eat? Well spent moneyDopamineTill theyWilt SadDepressedSo lonelyFace full of tears I thought we were friendsTurns out it was all pretendI didn’t want it to endYou made me happy Alone againHeartbrokenHopelessScared JumpScrambleRun down hillTake a deep breath Spot the waterfallIt’s…