A Thousand Tiny Nows*

If a thousand tiny nows
rained down on me
I wouldn't know
what to do.
But one tiny now,
that I can do,
including this moment
when my cat Oscar
insists on communing
with the keyboard.
The next tiny now
holds the sound
of Canada geese.
Before long
a hundred tiny nows
create a day.

A.H.

*Stolen from a greeting card - "Someday is a thousand tiny nows."

Downside of Upsell

Rental car agent
suggests we consider SUV
because of chance of rain,
ignored our protest of
"We're from Alaska"
won't be intimidated by moisture.
Should have asked
what she recommends
in case of nuclear attack.
Would a Humvee
be helpful?

A.H.

Trimming the Beast

Time to give the beast
a spring haircut.
At least it stays still
when I approach
with cutting shears.
"Steady now"
I reassure
the already placid
victim.
My target,
Clematis Giantus.

A.H.

In Between

Some times are
in between times,
left the old
can't see the new,
must wait
in between.
Some places are
in between places,
have left the known
wait in the middle
for the unknown
to become the
next known.
Some spaces are
in between spaces,
full of emptiness
ready to be filled.

A.H. 4-13-15

Dream Hangover

Even after
the dream evaporates
in the morning hours
I am left with
a residue of sadness
for the story told,
the version of
painful truth.
Can't shake
the shadows
of family ghosts,
no antidote for this
dream hangover.

A.H. 4-8-15

After Meditation*

When I rise
from thirty minutes
of sustained focus
I glance back
to see if there is
a  silhouette of
my sitting place.
Has the stress, strain, scurry
that I sloughed off
left a sifting
of silt scattered
from this,
the daily dusting
of my spirit?

*Meditation - "a smooth, unbroken flow of attention on a single subject" - Eknath Easwaran

A.H.