Some die of natural causes They drift to the ground and close their eyes Leaving their perfectly unmarked bodies scattered like the photographs of my ancestors I collect the ones that look familiar I write their obituaries and bury them in books or lay them out on the kitchen table like old lace doilies at […]
I can’t stand to see them droop Faces hung like lamps bent over Their lights are out Their shame is as drastic as their joy was in August They burn at both ends Like high summer models in Van Gogh poses Did their beauty go to their heads or do they bow in humble gestures? […]
Parlor invokes a sense of home and family coming together Outside, I gathered bright red apples bruised from their bumpy fall But still sweet and full with so much to offer Was it Sleeping Beauty? Did she eat the wrong apple? Was she pricked with a raging illness? Yes, she was beautiful Kissed and un-stirring […]
The sun’s twin soul casts no morning shadow but hovers faintly over an alter ego of cloud ______Colleen Redman / Poets United / Imaginary Garden with Real Toads
It’s my mother in me that couldn’t cry when I first heard she died and my father in me that finally broke down when I saw her It looked like she had one eye slightly open as if asserting her motherly omnipresence In life she didn’t miss a trick and she never liked to feel […]
Mining for diamonds to fall in our laps pockets of light burning holes The planet spins a starry web in a dark quarry of sky where as above so below has us all striking gold as we pan with our eyes for the mother lode ____Colleen Redman / Imaginary Gardens with Real Toads
Waiting for a meteorite to shoot across the sky is like waiting for a blind date to show up I’m alone in the dark in the middle of the yard And nothing happens And nothing happens It’s like waiting for a heart for my young friend on the transplant list knowing that someone will die […]
We get paid in corn for our garden labor We strike it rich with every husk pulled back The sun has forged an Aztec banquet a silky purse for August gold The rain has raised a gold rush harvest We reap the profits of its Midas touch With bellies full we dig potatoes for poorer […]
Hanging in limbo Pupa in cocoon Morning alarm rocks the cradle too soon Tension is a river dammed not to flow keeping me sleepless in an amniotic hold But I’m destined to be born Torn like a snagged twig I’m born to exhale and act from free will I will be delivered Slapped awake by […]
A disorderly yard disturbing the peace A dead lawnmower in the barn A showdown through tall grass and petals A hideout for varmints and ticks A lone black-eyed Susan flaunting yellow The wild west of summer defies law and order Plantain shoots seeds as guilty as weeds Daisies are delivered White clover spreads like thieves […]
Our love is a busy venture when we lay around we get a lot done We’re lavished in summer made golden by a fortune of wealthy sun We’re minting coins impressed with each other How richly we spend our time ___Colleen Redman / Poets United
Now that your ghost is 65 they want to sell you life insurance Now that you’ve been dead for 15 years the AARP wants to claim you The VA wants a donation for the return address labels from places you don’t live Social Security recommends a supplement plan but only during Open Enrollment It’s time […]
