Irene Yung
Consequential
Lily fragrance, sister laugh; memories of childhood home
Ant traps, husband quiet; acknowledge present tense
How a life goes from then til now
Like the color of the sunset, who can predict?
Anticipatory Sadness
Cutting string, soaking leaves—prep for bamboo-wrapped rice
Schedule Zoom, print out pages—space for line-found words
This year without mom's help, anticipating tears
But the arrival of friends dry them before they fall
Matt Frank
Launching
The door's now closed, the lights a glow
Their voices now a quiet echo
We gave them roots and watched them soar
Now share our love to the closed door
Delphine Yung
New Birder
Towhees trill mechanically from treetops
Song sparrows trill musically from bush branch
Will I ever be able to tell the difference?
Why can't these old ears hear?
Small yellow and green kinglet
Small yellow and green vireo
The warbler only sees another small yellow and green
Why can't these old eyes see?
Annalise Lathrop
Time
Our rhododendron bush bursts purple in the month of May
The irises are trying to open but it's not their moment to bloom
The LORD decides now, never, or not yet
He makes all things beautiful in his good time
John Keay
Palm Tree's Junco
Stretching high, swaying wide, the precipice's divide calls
Peeping low, stanchly short, his hood covers intent
He wonders at the world below, unquenched and vibrant, healthy and teeming
May Gray, June Gloom; are they ready? "Hold on," he tweets
Abbi Engel
Nature's Emotions
Twitter, tut, sing and warble, birds chat
Woosh, crash, swish and sway, waves roar
Seaside melodies weave their threads
Songs of calm and melancholy in passing tides
Peeps
Bubblegum pink, custard yellow, sea foam blue
Pastels in sugared poofs, all in a row
Crinkly fake green grass, nesting material
Tradition beyond just candy in colorful array
Night Musings
Bristles, evergreen stretch skyward, tall
Moon, lustrous, reflects in liquid dark, round
Stars, shiny, twinkles in velvet night, bright
Feeling small and dull, earthbound feet
Mark Johnson
Lost Words
Kingfisher quick, otter slick, magpie
Startled starlings, addled adders, heather
Who let these words go from children's mouths?
What technology knows how they sing?
Doug Foreman
Ports
Seatac hive hums Paine Field chirps a verse
Seattle unloads a fleet as Tacoma sirens a charger
Size and activity bellows after dominance
Humility and song unhurriedly calm
Megan Spurgeon
Field 2
The smell of cut grass and the ping of a cold metal bat;
My senses ground me to the moment and to the numbing bleachers
I sit here in time between my sons and my father,
Seeking connection but quickly because GameChanger waits for no one.
