i dedicate these words to my beloved friend, michelle clifford

oh where, oh where 

has my little scribe gone?

i am reading the coast reporter 

outside in my next-to-nothings

oh to have a wee yard 

& how sweet this heat 

(not so in the burning places)

i have fast effective relief for heat

a cold compress on my lap

frozen water bottle down my top

water drips 

down my left thigh

it’s bin’ years since i wrote a blog

(sounds like i’m in the confessional)

perhaps i am, thinking about all 

the news that’s fit to print

how now to write one’s truth these days? 

i hear jackson browne

“oh i’ve been out walkin’ 

i don’t do that much talkin’ 

these days”

the sow bugs laced my four foot sunflower 

with iridescent sap, the chocolate mint 

& the kale, i even found one sleeping

in a strawberry covered with dog hair

the little vermin march down my hall 

single file. i whisper “please don’t nest in my library” 

which is in boxes downstairs 

i hear the sound of the sun 

strike a strand of spider web 

& the calendula warrior flowers stretch 

into the nether regions 

cedars flutter in the coastal breeze 

my plants are almost as forgiving as the dog 

i can neglect them a bit & they keep pushing on

though not as fiercely as the army of weeds 

on dog walk this morn, 

i watched gaia’s shadow 

& mine in sync 

on the concrete

oh & did i tell you? 

yesterday i was driving to the sechelt mall to perform 

and asked myself “myself i says, who will i see today?”

me thinks MJ, then Grace 

well sure enuf, i only recognised only two folks that day 

first MJ & secondly Grace 

it happened the next day too 

i thought of someone & they appeared

well that’s about it for now folks

may you have the same good luck 

these halcyon days

thank you. thank you 

for the all, the every everything

trust your elf & the love that flows 

through the universe 

let the wind & wishing stars 

carry you where they will

hopefully, cya soon

the happiest cat around

                                                                july 25th, 2022