Author Archives: Puff Of Smoke Poems

Reality,
It must be noted,
Is sometimes
Guilty of
A lack of whimsy.
Allium, she says
So definite
So certain
No plant would
Dare
To contradict
Or say, Sorry, no
My name is
Seuss-root.

Make a list
a reminder
to notice trees—
How in the smallest breeze
maple leaves move together
like a flock of geese
or a school of fish

Add to your list
a reminder to notice
actual flocks of geese
schools of fish

to see how the smallest breeze
covers the sound
of your pen
writing this list—

Listen to small sounds.
Add this to your list

“Practice any art …
no matter how well or badly …
to experience becoming…
to make your soul grow.”
         ~Kurt Vonnegut, quoted in Letters of Note

the jar of every color pens
cheers up the table
just by presence
whispering promises
to the patient pad of paper

another wonderful thing
about the world—
how steady it is
day and night
herds of clouds
move across the sky while
that reliable moon
slow waltzes through phases
whether or not
we look up and see.

flower print lanterns
made of dollar store paper
summer on a string

pause in all doorways
wait one long moment as you
enter as you leave

cold front moving in
huddle down our secret selves
doors shut tight again

rainstorm in the night
world wakes up to bright green trees
above pink sidewalks

Turn off the staticked radio.
Suddenly
through the opened
window
you can hear
birdsong
already in progress

What will the aliens make of this?
Each May spent haunting junkyards
for wreckage, hauling the worst
to the freshly green front lawns
of our high schools hours spent
arranging crumpled cars as
wishes and warnings
warding off worst things
Will the aliens recognize
our primitive totems against
all the dark possibilities?