Observation
A mermaid was a fabled sea creature
Cold-eyed
But beautiful of face.
Enchanting . . . heartless.
Half woman.
Half fish!
Do you know,
I looked about me to-day
And thought
Of how many women
Are really
Mermaids!
Fall Fires
O scudding sky-O windy day
You snare my soul.
And fey . . . as fey
I wander down a curving street
To scuff the leaves against my feet
And smell the smoke that curls the air
And find the Autumn wondrous fair!
Now is the Time
Now is the time when falling snow
Drifts soft as flowerlets.
Far below
The dark earth stretching in her sleep
Is full of secrets.
Children keep one little ear above each cover
Lest in the night they might discover
The sound of hoofbeats in the air
And know that Santa Claus is there!
Self-Portrait. (Drawn in Dust on a Table Top)
Tho' I'd love to be neat
I admit defeat.
Some women's shoes are on racks
Mine are in stacks.
I can never find a needle or pin
They're never in what I put them in.
And when I emerge in confusion
From this rudderless fog
I closely resemble a something
You'd find under a log!
Be Good!
"Be good, my child" the sages said
And packed me off to early bed.
I didn't mind when I was small
And never loitered in the hall
But climbed the stair and clicked the light
And closed my eyes against the night.
But now . . . upon the sill I lean
And feel the wind across my throat
And tremble when the moon is new
And watch the stars the whole night through
For love has set his sign on me . . .
And I am neither young . . . nor free!
Camouflage