collision

next month, if the asteroid
smashes into earth
all life, will be wiped
clean, clean, far away.
to smithereens.
other than that, there is
no news from the national
aeronautics and space administration.
keeping my poetry in a light
vein, winter has released
it's grip on Ohio.
no sidewalk shoveling,
couldn't ice skate on the lak
or a small pond this year. a hundred tons
of salt not dumped on streets by the highway department will be saved.
winter gone, asteroid maybe;
what does the weather channel
have to say?

third of march

we drove to see our home in
Norwhere. the one
put together from a commercial
building. erected in 1866.
the home we left
to find better times near new friends.
it's a matter of neighbor-hood,
and the new one is grand.

April snowstorm
on the road to Plankton
came down thick, but too warm to stick.
heavy flurries had our attention.
the store half full.
half-covered their faces
In caution of the virus.
eggs 3.19, 
great start on the day.
getting out,
seeing people again.
we'll take highway 58
North to home, now Oberlin.

another holy mackeral

the lake is quiet, it hums.
that's always a good sign.
we drove by Severance Hall Cleveland, Ohio.
a large sign read 51 Fahrenheit,

spring is bursting awake,
make a note: blue jays, robins,
squirrels ... everyone is out.
in Spanish with English subtitles.

heard those words on the radio.
now, tighten up your belt.
keep smiling. there is more to do.
start a shopping list.

winter pause

 look far across the fields and check out
the afternoon sun, will you?

not the bright yellow ball itself
but the shadows soaking in between ... greys

and browns lighter than usual.

warm and inviting, still air,

 a farmer's buggy sorta day.

with the horse acting snappy

 coming up around by Planktown.

i can take a fist full of days like this, can't you?

going to warm

 a final sign winter's ended,
a snow melting 50 degrees
five days in a row;
starting tomorrow,
so we are depending on the weather forecast.
what do i think?
wait and see, right?

robins in february ohio

six in a bush,
this below-freezing day.
they appear round and ruffled,
seems cold for them to be well fed.
it's very cold and they keep eating
tiny buds on the bush by the window.
a flock on nine flashed in a nearby tree.
five seconds - they were gone ... flashed off.
25 Fahrenheit.
puffs of light snow.
don't know where those birds'll sleep.
must be tougher than they look.

holy moli

looking around,
reading words of others, poets.
that sort ... various.
and i was thinking
what they say.
then i write,

what i say.
say what?
it goes in good tempo,
you got the beat?
my friend, alex, he's a drummer.
all he's ever done.
puts me in a stretch.
makes my heart call out
i'd cry if no one's looking.
wipe my nose,
think home long ago,
and geese flying in a v overhead.
a good thought like that
calms me down.

unlike snowly

now the word
is wait another day.
snow is on the way
again they say.
hard to get excited though
two days in  a row.
don't you know.
even though
it's trickling in
rather thin.

rain mostly

for today the weather is messed up.
forecasters give us a 90 percent chance of rain
outside ... right here, around here.
well, it isn't giving, they offer.

and chance seems the wrong word.
likely hood. two words.
probability, that's it. 
messy, all over the streets.

when rain turns to snow.
i know the large dump trucks parading  around
will dump tons of salt to be smashed all over the streets.
and you can sit at the table and look out the window.

about a winter concert

okay ... that's a breath,
now i'll tell you ... as i recall,
of an afternoon concert in late February.
the Cleveland Orchestra, so it's again
Severance Hall, what a place.
their home zone.
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor ...
top of the heap, and composer of
Mediations on Rilke. also, we heard
Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz.
we sat on the aisle, row five and wow.
those musicians worked hard for us
to fill the hall
with solid, good sound ...
they succeeded.
what pleasure

alluring titles

reading the titles of my poems,
expecting to find them interesting.
some are, others not all.
to read in ten seconds with
no twist or depth on all.

give me more than a tantalizer.
dish me out substance.
 how about a topic.
start there. mind if i talk to you?
a campfire by the river.
i wait for you, you wait for me?
get the fire going. we'll be warm.

i'll button my coat to the collar,
see if that helps.
as i notice the ground outside disturbing,
bright light, no snow.
i found i'd written the same thing
several years ago,
this surprise at February no snow.

give me a chill breeze
or i'll wait inside for a weather change.
maybe fill my poem with genuine attraction.
or i need a drive around
to look in the fields.
there always is something going on there.

Dreams I recall

been remembering my dreams,
with a good flash in the morning,
then forget to write them down. 

these days of winter

morning clear sky, a pleasant, bright, light blue.
very pretty, even amazing.
seems i could reach out, wave my hand and touch it.
and overall the weather feels as if it could become even unseasonably warmer soon.

don't know what to think of that.
there is all the talk of climate change and global warming.
we don't know where it is going to lead.

the populace in the immediate vicinity seems to be taking time easily.
moving along each day with no apparent hurry.
i can say each night i'm sleeping well in good dream.

daytime cool temps cold, not frigid,
with no snow here in mid-February.
it is dry weather.

i've been writing notes; although thinking cream pie while eating less in general.

mon

the Monday pickup trash day in Norwhere.
you know how it goes
we're not there
so it isn't serious.
though a slow day of
rain and snow-melt
in the depths of my soul
i hear the train call
to wake me in the middle of my heavy thought
i turned once, remained quiet.

we were rated the number two radio station in los angeles.
i asked him what he wanted,
our program director doubted we could be number one.
i delivered in top fashion.
in a year we became number one in los angeles.
with the largest radio audience in america.

with eyes open i lay figuring what is next.
wait and see i say to myself
wait and see
intention. 

posture

sit up straight.
i'm not the one to be giving orders,
however, it is a point worth mentioning.
don't slouch;
stand tall as you can.
leave the others to do what they may.
be proud of your self.
so, that means a little smile is necessary.
now get along and be the best you can.

colding

this happened today
18 degrees only.
tomorrow and the week ahead
warmer weather they say.
slightly warmer,
but just enough to mention it ...
maybe that much.

snow moon

there's a snow moon,
an old moon.
the glow moon
 you'll see

i'm on board.
will hang on tight.
as the moon is bright.
look beyond the swirling clouds
into the twisting light;
wait for me.

deer out

3:00 the world was silent

got up to see five large deer

on the lawn in heavy snow.

all sound stopped.

a good quiet

blanket

blanket white, can't see rolling as you go on, out far, lost in pale colorlessness.
 i can hardly distinguish a shade.
winter, there you are
lying down outside.

headline news

headline news
has me confused
had eggs for breakfast
one piece of toast
eating better ... less, not more.
it's Tuesday, a theatrical play tonight.

so many stories
from around the world.
talking the news thing.
not trump the buffoon.
he can squeak his own wheels.

hello my friends.
dear hearts.
did i tell you i can't find the sixty dollars of paint i bought in december.
i need to paint a bit,
and put writing in order.

let me think pizza, some,
decent pizza;
it is appropriate
to put on my mind.
the rest of life and the news will fit around it.

three feb

monday 3 feb, outside is warm.
no snow,  it's not like i've seen.

how could i, why should i
talk about the warm?

because february never
happened like this before.
when i repeat myself,
it's because i'm rattled.
that's good, because i'm paying attention.

warm

winter is too warm.
can do harm.
we may never know.
wait and see.

another sandwhich

made a sandwich

like the other day.

called it lunch,

returned to pick up

where i found a good rhyme ... 

only i forgot 

the good rhyme, 

it was nowhere 

to be found.

a once a year rhyme 

turned its back on me, 

jumped ship. 

special because i  don't often dwell in rhyme. 

so when i find a good one 

like this, it is exceptional.

now what is exceptional is: 

i lost it. 

seemed evident i'd find it 

waiting for me. too large an occasion 

to be overlooked. so i made this note

to exhibit the importance

of my lost rhyme.
sadly, didn't help.
if i can recover
i will.

could

forget winter for now,
there is no cold or snow;
although next week could change everything.
i'll be eating oatmeal and looking out the window.
meanwhile, i could read, paint or write
all day, all night.
see how it goes.
change everything,
work in different sizes,
paint on the wall instead of canvas.
you think?

between

sure in between,
not cold or warm ...
thinking lunch.

had a sandwich.
no snow coming.
this is late january.

hardly gets below freezing at night.

new snow

flakes float down.
a few, enough to make us feel
it is practically winter ...
and enough
to wind out January ...
all we're going to get.

Mail

this mail delivery person is a guy.
took it out of his hand.
i got it as he smiled.
seemed easy.

however, i missed a package on the porch.
didn't see it.
and another in the mailbox...
didn't check.

thought how things got messed up.
kept going over the mental list,
thinking of stuff piled on.
jeeze o-pete.

deer here

three deer walked in our yard.
large, confident animals.
quiet...a team.
don't see them every day,
i thought then i would.
now three or four days later,
i'm waiting their return.

not wit

what a nitwit
shot john lennon...
who would have grown.
at least john had time with the beatles.

now the world waits;
for only now and then
even the great ones find a voice
that expands world wide.

them squirrels

one tree out there, by the window.

2 brown squirrels, small to medium.
don't get me wrong, they are both the same size;
between small and medium.

here's how they partner up:
one's runs down on the left side;

the other, the other.

they stick their heads in the snow,

dig around, come up with a nut.

a frosty way to eat.

i'm cold watching them chew.

cold and flurries, january,

week four, week to go,

this is january 20, 2020.