The FAB&PP Poem of the Month for August 2004
lawnmower silence
lets go of the morning
white butterflies
of
summer hover in the weeds
of the leaching field
the grey of the
old deck
against the faded blue
of the shingles weathered
to
identity
the clouds brush the
sky with reality and
a pause in the
parade
of sunshine time
white plastic chairs wait
another
chapter flips open
on the table the drone
of the banners high
above
- small engines at
3000 feet and 30 yards -
a canopy of maple and
tangle of pine to
frame it all
new notes on top of
old
one
mower stops
another pulls and
starts
[time for a walk on
the
shore wave to the
gate girls and
admire the sand
castles
the babies splashing
in the seaweed
the
grown-ups
shaded and serene
the plovers protected
and
the chattering
no wind no shirt
and home to the
cats
resting in the
bedroom shade
some music a drink
a shower
and glance
at the online menu]
time
prepares to
start again
and release once more in the
next soft
morning
the silence of npr and
rustling breezes
the old cat
puttering around the
only outdoors she
knows taking the
air and
out of
nowhere
the sparrows launch
an attack on the sick
dogwood struggling by the fence
two teams swooping
jumping chattering
excited
about something not
in the headlines
a somber robin
joins
them perching in the maple
to referee
the cat transfixed at
the
edge of the rail
dropping her gaze
only to hack and
hawk
working on
her hairball
i get up
the birds and
their
cacophony
dissolve
like time itself
examined
into the
morning
following
July 10-11, 2004