with chainsaw accessories

morning hoophouse i
carpet-sit quickly stripping
in plastic-trapped sun-heat
down to sleeveless tee
while i carve a flame
into woodblock
a lightburst thrown at
the misgivings of our own glow

_______

smell of beeswax while i lean in
carving curls of wood
with speedball knife
candle softening
in 80 degree-ness
_______

slicing apples for seven-year olds
with gaps in their mouths from
lost teeth after i explain
the woodcarving tools
and printmaking process
and a little bit about tarot to boot
_______

post-lunch
baigz, lulu and i
jingle-jamming about
pipin’ it

_______

i’m hooked i say
atop a not-yet-split log pile
in sun sprawl
sweet rachel responds

_______

caught sight of some hawk
greyish and low-flying while
i make my way to the top
of the first rise
of a pre-dinner run
_______

jillian michaels’ voice
in my head as i approach
the last hill saying something
about finishing how you started
strong
and with intention
_______

when i rise
let me rise
like a bird
with no regrets
joyfully
when i fall
let me fall
with no regrets
joyfully
we sing before
handsqueezing before
serving gado gado
onto our plates
for dinner
same song later repeated
raspily on voicemail
_______

formidable forestry crew
i say of mica, bagels and ty/marjorie
in their safety orange
with chainsaw accesories

_______

humming brahms lullaby
while pulling layers of row cover across
brassica starts in the crumbling greenhouse
_______

from the water world:

Locals cross a flooded river at Copiapo city, Chile. The death toll rose to four after rains battered the north and caused flooding, the government said, while 22 others were unaccounted for as the military rescued stranded villagers. – voice of america, day in photos

An Orthodox Priest blesses Sergey Semchenko of the Russian Search and Recovery Forces after having blessed the Soyuz rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome Launch pad in Kazakhstan. – voice of america, day in photos