Songs of Innocence
1
Sheltered balcony ⎯
where I jam in my castoffs
a wren lines her nest.
2
Sedges sway, whisper ⎯
The marsh’s swirling breezes
cool a woman’s fears.
3
V-shaped lines veer south ⎯
borne aloft by eight decades,
we draft with the geese.
4
Snowy maples thaw ⎯
in bare circles at their base
my blackened heart melts.
Songs of Experience
1
Concrete balcony ⎯
A wren’s parasitized nest
stuffed with cowbird’s eggs.
2
Sedges susurrate ⎯
the marsh’s steamy breezes
cook a woman’s angst.
3
V-shaped lines head south ⎯
Borne aloft by eight decades,
we falter and fall.
4
Snowy maples thaw
in bare circles at their base–
my heart glaciates.
