A Tidings of Magpies

At Summer's End by John Engels Early August, and the young butternut is already dropping its leaves, the nuts thud and ring on the tin roof, the squirrels are everywhere. Such richness! It means something to them that this tree should seem so eager to finish its business. The voice softens, and word becomes air the moment it is spoken. You finger the limp leaves. Precisely to the degree that you have loved something: a house, a woman, a bird, this tree, anything at all, you are punished by time. Like the tree, I take myself by surprise.

by Jane Hirshfield There are names for what binds us: strong forces, weak forces. Look around, you can see them: the skin that forms in a half-empty cup, nails rusting into the places they join, joints dovetailed on their own weight. The way things stay so solidly wherever they've been set down -- and gravity, scientists say, is weak. And see how the flesh grows back across a wound, with a great vehemence, more strong than the simple, untested surface before. There's a name for it on horses, when it comes back darker and raised: proud flesh, as all flesh is proud of its wounds, wears them as honors given out after battle, small triumphs pinned to the chest -- And when two people have loved each other see how it is like a scar between their bodies, stronger, darker, and proud; how the black cord makes of them a single fabric that nothing can tear or mend.

VIII by Robert Hass Chester found a dozen copies of his first novel in a used book- store and took them to the counter. The owner said, "You can't have them all," so Chester kept five. The owner said, "That'll be a hundred and twelve dollars." Chester said, "What?" and the guy said, "They're first editions, mac, twenty bucks apiece." And so Chester said, "Why are you charging me a hundred and twelve dollars?" The guy said, "Three of them are autographed." Chester said, "Look, I wrote this book." The guy said, "All Right, a hundred. I won't charge you for the autographs."

One of my dearest and bestest friends has died suddenly. We were locker partners in high school. She sat in front of me in homeroom. We were co-captains of the cheerleaders for the wrestling team. And we stayed friends through many years and many changes. None of them obviously our looks.  "...Time it was, and what a time it was, it was A time of innocence, a time of confidences Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph Preserve your memories; They're all that's left you" (Bookends,Paul Simon)

...Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. --Max Ehrmann   please note: photo by my CollegeGrrrl from Eastern StandardTime Hospital

Summer Kitchen by Donald Hall In June's high light she stood at the sink With a glass of wine, And listened for the bobolink, And crushed garlic in late sunshine. I watched her cooking, from my chair. She pressed her lips Together, reached for kitchenware, And tasted sauce from her fingertips. "It's ready now. Come on," she said. "You light the candle." We ate, and talked, and went to bed, And slept. It was a miracle. please note: art by Neil Wyrick

We spent the first three days of this week driving up and back to the lake. Drank beer with our neighbors, bought a wasp catcher, rode bikes around Kelly's Island, got sunburnt, ate fish, worked jigsaw puzzles, and HoneyHaired and I watched That Touch of Mink . Hubby fell asleep probably at the first scene. The muffler did not fall off my car, though I worry that will happen any day now before we can get it to the dealer, so while you can hear us coming up the street, you don't actually feel it in your bones. Yet. Passed many a church and bank along the way up I-75 and in front of one of them was a sign reading, "Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.--Helen Keller." I imagine there were many inspiring messages we passed, but this one resonated with me and kept me centered my last two days at work. Thank you all for your warm thoughts and comments in my last posting. I called this morning around 5am and my patient's h...

Found myself softly singing this to my patient this evening. Young man with a failed suicide attempt who nonetheless may still succeed. I relieved his mother at his bedside, holding his hand, so she could take a much needed break. I don't have any poetry for this kind of heartache.

by Joshua Trotter Is this what I've been traveling toward dodging rocks and reefs at funereal speed? I see no dish of milk, no welcoming lips just this beach—palms outstretched—and the abyss of all I've missed, winking from every bead on every rain-whetted, wind-brandished blade.

by David Shumate He is a hard one to write a poem about. Like Napolean. Hannibal. Genghis Khan. Already so large in history. To do it right, I have to sit down with him. At a place of his own choosing. Probably a steakhouse. We take a table in a corner. But people still recognize him, come up and slap him on the back, say how much they enjoyed studying about him in school and ask for his autograph. After he eats, he leans back and lights up a cigar and asks me what I want to know. Notebook in hand, I suggest that we start with the Little Big Horn and work our way back. But I realize I have offended him. That he would rather take it the other way around. So he rants on about the Civil War, the way west, the loyalty of good soldiers and now and then twists his long yellow hair with his fingers. But when he gets to the part about Sitting Bull, about Crazy Horse, he develops a twitch above his right eye, raises his finger for the waiter, excuses himself ...

Long Island Sound by Emma Lazarus I see it as it looked one afternoon In August,—by a fresh soft breeze o'erblown. The swiftness of the tide, the light thereon, A far-off sail, white as a crescent moon. The shining waters with pale currents strewn, The quiet fishing-smacks, the Eastern cove, The semi-circle of its dark, green grove. The luminous grasses, and the merry sun In the grave sky; the sparkle far and wide, Laughter of unseen children, cheerful chirp Of crickets, and low lisp of rippling tide, Light summer clouds fantastical as sleep Changing unnoted while I gazed thereon. All these fair sounds and sights I made my own.

I am not watching this glorious meteor shower, though perhaps we can give it a go Sunday night after work. I'm not even sleeping as I should be before a long 12 hours in the land of NeuroDrama. I am wide awake after either the noise of trains, sirens, dog, or a combination of all three woke me from a dream involving extra jigsaw puzzle pieces. Waking was a relief. Here's hoping that someone out there has seen some lovely sights from the heavens and will share them. Happy Weekend! please note: photo by Babak Tafreshi

Learning the Bicycle by Wyatt Prunty for Heather The older children pedal past Stable as little gyros, spinning hard To supper, bath, and bed, until at last We also quit, silent and tired Beside the darkening yard where trees Now shadow up instead of down. Their predictable lengths can only tease Her as, head lowered, she walks her bike alone Somewhere between her wanting to ride And her certainty she will always fall. Tomorrow, though I will run behind, Arms out to catch her, she'll tilt then balance wide Of my reach, till distance makes her small, Smaller, beyond the place I stop and know That to teach her I had to follow And when she learned I had to let her go.

by David Budbill Oh, this life, the now, this morning, which I can turn into forever by simply loving what is here, is gone by noon.

  Baby Girl Found by Francette Cerulli He found her wrapped in a brown towel Beside the highway department dumpster. She was so cold she was blue, so new her umbilical stump still drooped softly from her belly like the limp stem of some fantastic fruit. He picked her up in his huge gloved highway department hands and carried her to his truck. Inside the cab he turned on the light, peeled the damp towel from her body and held her under the blast of the truck heater. Giant midwife bent over her in the frozen morning, He watched for the smallest sign. It was her second birth.

by Carl Dennis Don't be ashamed that your parents Didn't happen to meet at an art exhibit Or at a protest against a foreign policy Based on fear of negotiation, But in an aisle of a discount drugstore, Near the antihistamine section, Seeking relief from the common cold. You ought to be proud that even there, Amid coughs and sneezes, They were able to peer beneath The veil of pointless happenstance. Here is someone, each thought, Able to laugh at the indignities That flesh is heir to. Here Is a person one might care about. Not love at first sight, but the will To be ready to endorse the feeling Should it arise. Had they waited For settings more promising, You wouldn't be here, Wishing things were different. Why not delight at how young they were When they made the most of their chances, How young still, a little later, When they bought a double plot At the cemetery. Look at you, Twice as old now as they were When th...

Dinner turned out very well last night. Sharing the recipe in case anyone wants to try it. I used shrimp, and I did heat it up a little just because Miss HoneyHaired likes shrimp better that way. Add some french bread for the carb lovers among us...easy-breezy. Hubby loves the fresh smells when he walks in the door. Santa Fe Summer Pot with Avocado and Shrimp (From From The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift (Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2008). Copyright © 2008 by American Public Media ) Serves 4 10 minutes prep time; no stove time This can wait, chilled, for 30 to 40 minutes •1/4 cup fresh lime juice •1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped •1 large garlic clove, minced •1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced •1/2 teaspoon Crossover Spice Blend (recipe follows) or a blend of ground coriander, ground cumin, and freshly ground black pepper •1-1/2 ...

Downtown CinCity on a hot summer morning. After weeks of hot summer mornings. I think we've broken the record of 14 or 17 straight days of over 90 degree heat and I feel we should cool things off a bit. IMHO. What you cannot see in this photo is how much heat the bricks soak up and continue to radiate into a home. Cause they're givers. My strategy for the day is to go in and out of a/c as much as possible while trying to get a grocery list together, buying the food, making the food, cleaning up after the food. Things need to be done here, but the 3 episodes I've missed of In Plain Sight are not going to watch themselves. Tidying today, perhaps. Dusting and vacuuming, not so much. Dinner at this point is going to be Sante Fe Summer Pot with Avocado and Shrimp. No cooking required. Dog Days by Doreen Fitzgerald The languid heart is on the porch, slowly swinging back and forth, trying to beat the heat. The brain is in a maple tree, prehensile toes around a b...

It's been a rough summer for a lot of people, myself included. We've got three very damaged patients in our unit; their rooms all in a row; men in their 50's who have fallen from fixing their roof, from cutting limbs off a tree, and from working on his plane. Two of my best friends' husbands have left their marriages with more unsaid than said, and don't get me wrong, these are nice guys. Good husbands and dads and friends. Friends' parents are falling ill and their children getting injured. My neighbor, mother of a 7yr old girl, was diagnosed with cancer. As I passed through the Mexican section at Krogers a few weeks ago I noticed the display of religious candles, so I brought an Our Lady of Guadelupe to help turn things around. Now I'm up to four Our Ladies for more firepower. Burn it up, girls. Acrobat's Song by Liam Rector Who is it for whom we now perform, Cavorting on wire: For whom does the boy Climbing the ladder Balance an...

by Peter Makuck My first time on the night train I couldn't sleep With expectation, the lucky Shapes of houses wrapped in dream— Trees slowed, then creaked to a stop. 4:00 a.m. under country stars. Lower the window: new air, A deserted dirt road and A peasant pedaling away, A wand-like loaf in his hand, Tail-light growing weak Red in the dark, as if his work Was to bring fresh light To woods and fields. He did, Keeping me there at that Balanced blue hour even later In the Sainte Chappelle, The blur of the Louvre and after. please note: photo art by M. A. Andrew