In a still, bright dawn,
a dragonfly arriving,
on the buddleia alighting,
in the shinning sun dazzling,
blue-green colours reflecting.
Thrilling!

In my garden
I have seen the rain
turn the leaves
to lustrous emeralds and jade

I have seen
a Hummingbird bathe
in the freshly watered leaves
of a Buddleia
moving leaf to leaf
in delighted fluttering

I have seen
juvenile, yet nearly grown
Blue Jays, beaks open,
throats quivering
demanding to be served
by their weary, patient parents

I have seen
a vivid Green Snake pose
as a Zinnia stem
eyeing me cautiously
as I pass by
startled, yet captivated

I have seen
a Box Turtle leisurely
floating in the pond
his bowed back
the color of rich soil
dabbed in sun spots
by an artist's brush

while Frogs,
slick and bug-eyed
peek mischievously
through the water's surface
and disappear as if
playing a game
of hide-and-seek

In my garden
I have seen
a Moonflower unfold
its pure white soul
and inviting fragrance

as dark begins
opening itself slowly,

****** bride to the night

In terraced ranks
of brick and slate
they stand in rows
and wait their fate.

The street lies in
abandoned zones
deserted now
the cobbled stones.

And all that’s seen
on darkest nights
the distant red
of rear tail lights.

By day exposed
as light breaks through
a barren land
a desolate view.

An empty scape
where bleak wind blows
where buddleia
and nettle grows.

Where rotting wood
and old tin sheets
and bricks and rubble
lie in heaps.

In terraced ranks
of brick and slate
they stand in rows
and wait their fate.