Author: cfblack
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Choices
Morning after fire pit grey ash stills radIates heat Lone tree frog drones in woods Leaves glisten with yesterday’s rain Cardinal calls from a limb Young woman pushes stroller in park Yoga instructor’s leaf blower removes debris from basketball court Bose beats boom before breakfast Neighbor walks dog without doggie waste bag So many omens…
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stairs
Some days are made for repairing stairs Some days are made for building stairs up to the porch Some days are made for climbing stairs that lead to your door Some days are made for sitting on stairs to watch your neighbors pass by Some days are made for descending stairs for a stroll in…
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A poem for a poet
a slim manila envelope from Clemson, SC in Friday’s mail it was expected you bring it in the house and place on a stack of folders and books unopened, because you know what’s inside your wife is home from Pittsburgh and has her laundry on the side porch so you carry Saturday coffee to the…
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Lament #17
I read cicadas will be plentiful this summer Returning from long quarantine underground I miss the high descant keening above tree frog choruses I miss life begging come sit with me before we die I miss the closeness of being alive 6-19-20
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Bird watching during an election year
A family of Cyanocitta cristata race back and forth in trees Shrieking and screeching again and again I look for an egg-sucking snake or maybe a crow But I see no egg-suckers in trees disturbing the peace Maybe the mocking birds were spreading conspiracy theories for kicks Or maybe the insecure and unstable just don’t…
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Practice in a time of safe distancing
He sits alone at a blue picnic table laces name brand shoes from rough asphalt he removes last night’s leaves and debris gathers his brown ball and shoots from the top of the key ___ He rebounds shoots a layup retreats to the far side of the court fakes left and right shoots a three…
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Pet Obedience School in a Time of Voter Suppression
Chose a pet wisely if they’re rambunctious when no one is watching, let the shelter put the free-spirited to sleep Habituate them to a cage, jerk their chain and when you demand obedience they’ll follow quietly behind performing for treats —-Dedicated to all the voters who stood in line for hours trying to vote 6-16-20
