i.
they'd chirp an angry siren
from bramble round the chain
link fence that flanks
the tiny country cemetery
their peace disturbed
as I lumber toward my
sister's grave
shushing as I go
ii.
they'd anchor my grandmother's
beautiful fushia and soft pink peony bushes
standing guard between the steep hill
and wild flower garden 'neath
her big picture window with their own special perch
where they'd alight, along with the others
abiding in flowering forsythia
and lilac hedges
if memories were sparrows
they'd assemble with finches
outside my window
boisterously chirping
on snow covered lilacs
waiting impatiently for turn at seed
whispering to each other of
Gramma's persistent insistence for me to dig up
a few of those peony bushes
to plant here in the yard of my (then) new home
if only I had listened
ignored busyness
and thoughts of ants amuck in my car
or later, remembered her request
before the house sold and I could no longer
go back with shovel in hand
if memories were sparrows
they'd now be resting dormant
waiting for spring
instead
only her desire to share them with me
lives with my ache of memory
These poems are a response to the challenge in L.L. Barkat's post The Great Poem Caper. Some of the entries have been published at High Calling Blogs' RAP: Poem Play.
We had quite the ice storm here a couple of weeks before Christmas. We were lucky to be without power for only 24 hrs. It took about 5 days for many in the surrounding areas. My husband and I woke up to no power. As we sat together in front of the fireplace (converted to gas a couple years ago), we wondered if hot coffee constituted an exception to the state of emergency/ no cars on the roads rule.
No worries. Husband found the camp stove, a tank of propane, and got out the french press he had bought in Maine this summer, and Voila!! COFFEE! I love that man! Yeah, he was boiling that water, and later dinner, in the freezing rain.
Husband took this beautiful photo of full moon during ice storm.
How cute is this? Gift left on the windshield by aforementioned husband after cleaning off the rest of my car before leaving for work. I was late for my hall duty that morning because after I came outside and saw it, I had to search the house for the camera.
Grammy and all the grandchildren on the stairs during my family's (after) Christmas celebration. My favorite part of the whole night was the fifteen minutes that the youngest, redheaded Nicholas (making faces at himself in the mirror here), was gleefully scurrying up and down the stairs , pausing every so often on the landing in the middle, yelling at the top of his lungs "I LOVE BEING ALIVE! I LOVE BEING ALIVE!" over and over.
My Grandmas angels on the piano.
Wondering
What will the next post bring? 
