May Day! May Day!

Iris

—Photo by D.R. Wagner, Elk Grove

AMONG WILD ROSES
—B.Z. Niditch, Brookline, MA

Sunshine glows
among wild roses
and thyme
drinking in
shimmering stems,
a colossal sunlight
vanishes at
the unwatched dawn
here by the pond
resembling the waters
of a Monet,
a few jays wrestle on
a fragment
of dark green,
as my pictures
are quickly taken
with resonance
on a Japanese
peace garden
by nettles of the spring
with waters floating
by spidery stones,
a zen poet
without sharing names
nods to me
with flowers on her lap
tightly holds her sheep dog
and runs loose
by the almond waters
taking out a blanket
and meditates,
her prayers like flames
of good will
across the dunes
on the harmonious shore.  

____________________

ALONG THE WATERFRONT
—B.Z. Niditch

No loss
reciprocal letters
of your childhood friend
who has moved away
unexpectedly
now in the shock
of being overwhelmed
here at the ocean dock
where we first sailed
in the regatta
on the Bay
harboring memories
by the sea's waterfront
throwing pebbles
to the shore,
wanting to recover
our past adolescence
wanting again
to be spontaneous
with a school companion
who envisioned
our reunion
by summer,
yet there is joy
in countless encounters
with the orange kayak
he named "the B Z"
or you going underwater
swimming cautiously
in the language
of these shining waves.

_____________________

THE LAST BIRCH
—B.Z. Niditch

When dreams
like heavy rains
lash across the bay
with shaken ocean sounds
of seagulls and hawks
only beach echoes remain
to haunt the night,
then great hailstones
on a blacked-out cold sky
shatter the twin barns
and linger along
the mossy greenhouses,
wondering if the last birch
in the yard will survive
my own thinking
when both of us
take our leave in the wind
and wonder if we are
forgotten or obsolescent
not to be heard or seen
when in the morning
across the low marshland
looking around
from the blurred fog
and mist of shore
my tall birch is there
at least in memory
of a poet's lines
for a lifetime and more.

—Photo by Richard Hansen, Sacramento

TOP WITH YOUR FAVORITE SWEETENER
—Caschwa, Sacramento

Clear sky
Calm Field
Life abounds
Chaparral fire
Pain
Loss

Ashes
Darkened Sky
Slow new growth
Blooms
Color
Aroma

Progress
Asphalt
Strip malls
Crowds
Ads
Loans

Debts
Crimes
Jails
Courts
Law
Public defender

Doubts
Trial
Success
Tears of joy
Party
Guests

Cars
Limo
Retirement
Lovely home
Clear sky
Calm field

_____________________

MODERATION IN THAT


CITY BY THE BAY

—Kevin Jones, Elk Grove

Had a teacher
Who for years
Wanted to
See San Francisco.

Finally he
Bought a ticket.
Flew out,
Walked
Around the
Airport, flew
Back to Illinois.

“That’s it? That’s
All you did?”
I asked.  “It was
Enough,” he smiled.
“Remember, I’m
An English Professor.”
 

____________________

Today's LittleNip:

DON'T LOOK DOWN
—Caschwa

It is springtime!!
the grass is overgrown
the toenail is ingrown
ain't going to mow the lawn today

____________________

—Medusa

Dogwood

—Photo by Katy Brown, Davis