Duanwu de mayo #11

East to West by Matt Frank

Skyline towers escort Sophia’s walk

Gilded ripple reflections welcome Thalia

Concrete Canyons fade like dreams

Emerald Pines greet them both

Desert Blooms by Meggan Uecker

Apple and cherry blossoms heralded by parades and royalty Lilacs and rhododendrons celebrated with races and marching bands While the scrub hills of uncultivated, endemic desert beauty Of golden balsamroot and purple sage humbly steal the show

Copay by John Keay

I’m patient remembering, dismembered, contented
Sick, longing to bring home the bacon
The doctor’s attending, pretended, amended
Well, dollars go plonk in the piggybank

Lake Washington Boulevard in Spring by Doug Foreman

Cherry blossom trees along in a row

Speed bumps hide in leafy shadows

Colors soon float to the long lake

The road hazards stand firm and proud

First time birdhouse by Delphine Yung

Wooden cube on backyard pole Keep sun, cat, raccoon from hole Shave wood, get moss, where is fur? Chickadee scoffs at help to her

Strict Tang form by Irene Yung

Sis bro pal pal hun

Ask quip joke joke fun!

Just five words of one?

First time this time done.

Presently Future Ignorance by Irene Yung

Ruby hibiscus iced gem glass

Blue screen glows lamp light

Years of gathering, when will it end?

Precocity from the first day, let’s not count

Pink Earth by John Keay Red rocks sliced, mountain, adorned with whimsy Why does the Earth show such ancient colors? Anne’s book placed, notes, scorned in science(y) When might the dirt begin to shimmer, playful lovers?

19-7 by Megan Spurgeon

Thirteen players with bats, helmets, and mitts Inevitably only twelve hats at once Nine fielding positions we need to somehow fill And nowhere to hide the three who still can’t catch

Duanwu de mayo #10

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.

Duanwu de mayo #9

Wooden Soul by John

Traverse the planked ceiling; grow. Upside-down; Glowing Furnace
Run to the good Doctor. Extinguish; Roaring Curse
Context, flummoxed; metallic aftertaste abides
OakHeart, my dear, pray sunlight for me

by Doug

Twilight's arrival is night's announcement
Light's departure is evening's concession
Details and colors bow to shadows and voids of gray and black
Silence waits for the blanketing peace or waking fear

RONG JIA by Irene

Death count, life innumerable; face fears holding hands
Poem format, poetry unfading; turn from bitterness open arms
When does one lose the title of daughter?
Sisterhood endures all breaks and blooms in the family tree

Garlic Chai by John

Smells kind, sharp, earthy surprise
Feels warm, like purpose realized
How much sugar did she supply?
A hidden rhizome surprise: Ginger’s Demise

THANK YOU FOR REMEMBERING by Irene

Prepped cup, scheduled Zoom; nothing readies me for sunset

Toppled dream, sudden alarm; rhythm steady in friendship

Themes, like lemons, keep dripping with more squeeze

Writing flows over the smoke of burnt dinner

Providence’s Meditation by John

Focus on your breath; beating, breathing
Never mind that thought; fleeting, leaving
Curiosity guide you, loving-kindness drive you
Breathe; Engage with the flowers, the trees, the lilies