Sauna Life

hot cedar scent

a pulse of birch steam

heat soars

Malbec molecules 

and Irish Spirts 

join the mist

old monk rubs 

his bald head

ponders prayers

old and new 

pens poems 

deep in the mind

 - from May 25th 2025 - Notebook poem

A Garden Prayer

the abbess kneels

at the garden edge

weeds disappear 

piled and carted away

she finds a fallen feather

old black crow

stands it up 

beside pink snap dragons

From Summer 2025 - Notebook Poem

Wild Flowers

shed side trout lilies bloom

a lawn sea of violets

up to the forest edge

just off the path 

a rare red trillium hides

on the sunny hill 

a patch of crocuses 

under crab apples blossoms

forget me nots flourish 

by the rusty gate

 - from May 19th 2025  - Notebook Poem 

night swim

slipping into cool lake water

short flowing elementary backstrokes

under pine, and oak boughs

cast in flickering campfire light

then further 

out past "the rock"

into the middle of the bay

floating still

on a floating planet

looking up through milky way arms

a few of those stars are in other galaxies

a few of them are galaxies

beyond beyond

a commute

to the south

early morning commute snarled

cars hopping off the highway

onto rural route sixteen

lights flash

fire trucks coming in hot

from the city

an ambulance rushes past

in the other direction

racing down the icy shoulder

to the north

driving slow 

in bleary eyed traffic jam

a cow in the hay field?

...no there are two

a mother moose

ploughing a deep snow trail

for her calf

doing the work

parking lot princes, and/or princesses 

stumble in late...again

they are new clothes naked

as they promenade down the hall

one or two are clothed (phew)

rusty armour

tattered capes trail

swinging their yardstick swords

and rehanging flags

all bang, bluster

and gentle reminders

running from crisis to crisis to crisis

or long lunch laughing

the tired monk 

closes his door

climbs on the oak desk

unscrews the speaker cover

one deft snip

of the intercom wires

doing the work

A 15 Year Revision

sitting around the staff lounge

talking about the things good people do

a refrain of "he's a bad person" rings

the topic shifts...

weight loss, micro plastics

toxins baked into your very bones

how to fit into your summer pants

he walks away

back to his office

alone

the computer hums