1.

Living on the Shores of the Pacific

It’s not merely the waves

or the sun or the sand

It’s more than the spray

or the crash or the splash

It’s not only the sparkle

or the rocks or the fish

It’s the wonder of it all

A whipped cream of an ocean dance

With the vapors and song of the shore

———–

2.

Peaches

From high upon a wooden shelf,

I lift a can of peaches.

Juices meant to savor later,

while tucked inside my feasting bed. 

Now licking sugar from my fingers,

I am startled by the truth: 

Your sweet syrup is my craving—its

candy meant for spilling on my tongue.

---

3.

in the snow

but all is to be dared, because even a person of poverty

finds strength in the sight of children playing in the snow

their shrieks from the sled as they brave the hill

their bobbing and ducking from snowballs

who among us has not wept with empty pockets seeking joy

as the view from the top of the slope cracks open our hearts?

the days come quicker now; aches and caution greet us

we never knew before about staying steadfast in our waking time

we were filling our minds with dreams of frozen fingers clinging too long

to the snowy childhood memories of riding by the seat of our pants

---

Maybe I’m biased. I wrote these. Happy New Year.