Don’t dismiss old folk
For with luck, you too will age
greet with reverence
A Curiosity
poetry
Bandit
She stole my most precious entity
through thoughts of pointless excess
midnight worries, daytime anxiety
the cost was heavy and sobering: my success
My prescription to the current blooming?
Don’t stare at screens and mirrors
Narcissus was constantly grooming
and, your destiny looms ever nearer
Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport
Went running through the desert
with William
tonight
I thought of the kangaroos I drew
with deep admiration of
their hefty legs
Our hearts beating
lungs exchanging energy
alive
Adaptation
I used to be a nightshade,
slow to rise and rouse myself at daybreak,
active and alert by the light of the moon,
happy to be a nocturnal brute
but mothering lent solitude only at dawn,
and I craved the quiet and calm,
So I rose with the sun and sometimes aforetime,
and now I wilt early – often before nine!
Sunflowers
Sunflowers are my new favorite flower. I just learned that they are “hyperaccumulators”! They absorb toxins and pollutants so well that thousands were planted in Chernobyl to absorb radiation. They were also planted in Fukushima to clean up that toxic spill.
The trick is to harvest and destroy them before they produce toxic seeds that birds could eat. 
Rose-Colored…
For so long, the world seemed like a bleak and hopeless place
my days were blotted with sorrow and fear
but I stopped fighting reality, I cleaned my own lenses
all is good and light now that my vision is clear
Apple of My Eye
Oh, apple of Eden!
Symbol of immortality, sin, knowledge, and temptation –
Raw and cutting,
Sweet and delectable,
You are such a sauce-y tart!
Unbound
On an atypically warm Antelope Valley morning,
the llamas blink a declaration of hunger at me
I walk down the dusty, winding trail
surrounded by mountains that remind me of my great inconsequence
It’s Thanksgiving and my dog’s eyes brim with unflinching love
as she accompanies me, untethered, down the path
I’m beholden – we all are – every single one of us,
to those who have embraced us and to those who have pushed us away
Embrace the Dark
the good thing about the night
is that morning always comes
perhaps if you hug your nightmares
and laugh in their face
they will shrink back
in fear of you
Art is Hard (for Me)
I’ve always wanted to draw. I had a babysitter (Julie) who shut that dream down when I was six. She told me I couldn’t draw or color well.
Yet, when shopping for art supplies for my daughters, I’ve always lingered in front of the pencils and drawing tablets, the paints and brushes a bit longer than necessary. I’ve saved tons of art supplies for “someday” when I have time to take a class.
I realized that “someday” is pure imagination. We only have TODAY.
For my birthday, I treated myself to Lisa Congdon’s book, 20 Ways to Draw Everything. It got 5 out of 5 stars! I’ve watched her videos. She’s really good. It arrived in the mail today. But page after page just shows 20 dogs, 20 rabbits, 20 flowers, etc. perfectly drawn! There are no step-by-step directions. In the very beginning of the book, she instructs “Draw the big shapes and lines first, then add in the smaller details.” Really?
That’s it?
I need a lot more help.
So I drew and drew and the whole time, my inner critic was talking snidely to me. Seriously, do you call that a leg?
Look at Jazz. He looks like he’s had a craniotomy.
Oh for Pete’s sakes! Why do all of your dogs look pregnant?
Precious looks broken.
Is Brutus a dog or a deer?
I have to laugh. My inner critic is funny. My drawings are funny. I want to get good, but in my own way. I’ll never be Lisa Congdon good and that’s OK. I also ordered Milk and Honey. Look at one of her illustrations:
Her illustration is not “perfect.” It’s impactful. Her poetry has resonated with so many readers that her volume of poetry is a New York Times Bestseller.
So, I’m not going for perfect. I’m on a quest to develop my own style.
Screw you, Julie!
Kismet 