Last Christmas was the last Christmas.
Last Earth Day was the last Earth Day.
Last weekend was the last weekend.
Your last birthday was your last birthday.

Happy last **** Day!

One day when I was a child
My favorite pear tree fell
I found it strange to know it’s fruit
When I’d only seen it bloom

Split in half by the weight of ice
Right down the middle
A crack of thunder as it went
It was killed by the rain and cold

I used to rest in it’s shadow
Infertile but gracious to me
As the blooms floated down
Like flurrying springtime snow

Strong seeming and lovely smelling
A father in spirit and in truth
Winter killed what spring made beautiful
It held no children but me

Birds fly
So do I--
Lifted by your hands.
Paper *****,
Wrestled falls,
Laughter with no end.

Scars earned,
Lessons learned,
Gearing me for life.
Always here,
Support clear,
Pillar of my life.

Dear dad,
Your contagious beams,
Spread through my body,
Infect my cheeks.

You reflect the day-
The soul of a child,
In the body of a man-
Life's not kind.

Yet you shine,
As a movie critique,
With zero dad ***,
And a good physique.

However busy,
You may be,
You leave it all aside
For our family.

Very grateful we must be.
Not all heroes are caped, you see,
Because dad,
You are our hero in a lungi!

And what’s then? What’s left?
Maybe the faith that the day'll beep,
That day when the sun pushs cheekily
To windows, disturbing sleep.

That day when there’s no sadness,
When everything’s clear and plain!
That day when the soul is married
To happiness, sprayed with rain.

That day when all the trumpets around
Struck the march, bravura and blessed!
That day when I live the whole time
Just live without any dread.

It wasn’t the two of us at the start.
Day turned to night,
and suddenly we couldn’t part.
From one of the many faces,
To one I could pick out from the crowd.
We weren’t sure of ourselves before,
But one thing’s for sure now.
We’re caught in the torrent —
We found ourselves headed to the deep end.

Is the day perfect  
if there are no birds to wake you  
but there is lemonade?  

or if you live on Lemonade Street  
but there are no birds on electric lines  
because the utilities are underground.  

no birds twittering in trees  
just the sweet sour taste  
of lemonade puckering your mouth  

the scent of bonnie braes in the air,  
standing still in a pitcher of ice water,  
tangy, acidy,  
still sweeter than most.  

My neighbor,  
who is always preening and  
chatting up the neighbors,  
makes hers with bubble gum bursts and *****,  
a lemon drop of punch drunk love.  

If I want birds and trees  
I just walk across the street  
to the older neighborhood with telephone poles—  
some line birds,  
but mostly garden gnomes and bird baths.  

My dog delights in yanking me there,  
scattering the conferences  
of cardinals and jays in mid song  
from worm feast  
to the trees.  

Here, old men and women  
in shorts and summer dresses,  
holding citron nectar  
in tall glasses with seeds, rind and pulp,  
delight in their perfect day  
filled with lemonade and birds.  

I don’t know anymore  
if they are thrilled with the trill  
or fed up with the cacophony  
of untuned bird calls,  
birds in all the trees where they belong,  
silent at night.  

Deep in the forest  
filled with leaves,  
I suppose their diamond-throated song  
is a mournful dirge  
for when a tree falls  
silently, deadly in the green.  

One day our small community saplings  
will bloom,  
and the days will be filled  
with the miracle of birdsong  
and drinking lemonade  
on Lemonade Street.

I wish a day could stretch beyond its twenty-four hours;
allowing dawn to linger while I savour breakfast in calm;
no frantic check of time as I pour my tea;
no rush to dash for transport or meetings.

Morning light would flood my window long enough;
for slow stretches and thoughtful planning;
I'd arrive at work with minutes to spare;
settle into tasks without scrambling notes.

Lunch would become an unhurried affair;
a proper break with laughter that lasts;
afternoon hours would hum with clear focus;
projects advancing at a steady, unrushed pace.

Evening could unfold like a second dawn;
time to practise hobbies or wander with friends;
family dinners would not be a race against the clock;
conversations deepening as hours drift by.

Social outings need not end at curfew's chime;
late-night talks stretching into starlit freedom;
then at last I'd choose my rest: eight, ten, twelve hours;
each second mine, reclaimed from life's tight measure.

The shutters
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