lawn so green

it looks like the tree

is drinking it

through a straw —

teenagers attached

magpie and grackle —

who’s the sauciest?

cats with piqued ears

and quivering noses

want to know

yellow-mantled,

a friend informs us —

marmot of the plains.

three floors up, appendix gone,

your incision’s stapled grin.

hum babe! hum babe!

the gimped pigeon’s swollen foot

a punched baseball glove:

you want to toss a ball

when its foot falls off

church rally —

boy finds his dental plate

under the bleachers,

gives me

a big window grin

Victoria —

a mallard coasting

in for a landing

hits black ice,

skitters down the pond

it’s a tree, isn’t it?

decorated maybe, but

where else would I piss?

dog’s soft brown eyes and arched brow

offer both of us relief

febrile web —

my wife’s angry talk

with my daughter

shakes the raindrops

off a branch

a roller coaster —

or so it seems, the way

these kids’ eyes

hold the curves of the

new computer game

Kimberly T-shirt:

silhouette cartoon couple

in the cross hairs.

If it’s tourist season,

how come we can’t shoot a few?

blonde on blonde —

not Dylan’s masterpiece

but a retriever

on grass I refuse

to water any more

she’s not in the mood —

though the day lilies’

orange megaphones

announce their readiness

to anything with six legs

Issa schmissa —

how many bytes of data

did you take away

from my computer

today, friend ant?