Today I Open The Cage

Today I Open the Cage

Today I open the cage.
Cobras leave for their rightful home and
vultures will have to eat alone.

Today dead bees fall
heaped beside the abandoned hive.
Brittle black grit on snow.

Today, snow, bees, leaves.
Cold and dirt bury the dead
and also the living.

Tomorrow and far too cold, cherries bloom in snow.
Bees resume their ancient work
succulent and golden.

Cheryl Renee October 2008

Joy Packed Up and Left Today

Joy Packed Up and Left Today

Joy packed up and left today
or maybe she’s just hiding
cowering in a corner
waiting for high winds to pass.

She says I am an unsuitable host.
Although joy is my daemon
she hides from me today
hunched down, eyes slit, ears back.

She will come back on her own
like a calico cat invisible on her perch
she peers down calmly, sizing me up
looking for signs of clearing skies.

Cheryl Renée October 2008

Today

October 12, 2008

Today

Today the last outdoor lunch
Under the broad leaf maple –
green-gold leaves littering our deck.
No one stops them.

Today we dug the last of the potatoes,
Pulled the shivering tomato plants
And rescued the pimento shaped
red orange beauties – tonight’s dinner.

The tomatillos we never planted
they just crashed the party
welcome guests but very late
green striped suits with parchment jackets.

Today we walked
the Cedar River Trail
and smiling dogs
with black lips.

The river runs clear
now green, now gold.
puffballs – the river’s fall companion
white delicacy in the grass.

We walk until
it really is too cold.
The cedar fire warms our home
With fragrance and with heat.

Dinner is soft acorn squash,
creamy yellow in a hard green shell
heaped with puff balls,
the pointy red tomatoes on the side.

The cedar fire is banked
Tonight will be first frost.
The black lipped dogs smile,
turn tightly, then sleep.