A Polite Refusal To Succumb To Drought

  [Dedicated to Leonard Knight --1931-2014-- indomitable gardener, artist]

Calpatria, Camp Dunlap slabs,
South of Salton Sea, adobe,
Straw, paint and persistence--
He secured dunes in plaster and
That meant much to me.
A world changes, as do we,
And Salvation Mountain is
Hope fixed in memory.

History

Among gardenias
And jasmine
In our garden,
Sunlit histories
Secure a
Hummingbird's
Sure use of
The moment.

Solar Lights (Night Shift 2)

This summer night
Stars snag in lath, climb
Latent paths ahead of
Light,  a plume of
Entropy --of time.
Their songs stir
Our steaming sea.
At dawn atoms of fall
Cling to the garden and
Work awaits me.

Bedtime Protest

Above our garden
Light took over ragged
Clouds,  tried for
Some time to hide
And still got dragged 
From inside -- down
Sky, as all light turns
Back around behind its
Dreaming eye of night.

Carmen Miranda Beet

Something to do with drought,
With heat, she goes out and
Digs a Carmen Miranda beet
Dancing under bees -- her
Husband,  half Portuguese,
Keeps time with his feet.

Of You Is

Over an olive tree
Is sky, and 
I reflect no 
Disturbance.
Is it dance or some
Illusion, some fusion
Of light and ideas?
In a really good house
Of mirrors, you only
Know where the
Inside of you is.

Whirlwind, Listen

[Normavideo backdoor garden pirouette]

Clockwise,  a whirlwind over me.
Its walls warm, center calm--
A memory of an old embrace,
Upturned face, a smile-- and
I walk with it a while, birdsong.
I recall a kiss and think, yes,
We were supposed to do this.