Mother’s Day
The earth holds the bones
of every tree that ever held
leafy children aloft
and the ashes
of every human mother
that ever nursed a babe
and the fur of every mammal
that ever carried
their young front to back
and the shells of every turtle
that ever guided
offspring to the sea
and the skins of every reptile
that ever hatched
tiny slitherlings
and the feathers of every bird
that ever nested
their brood
the earth gently holds the bones
of every child
ever created
The Gems
Thank you
to all of the gems
in life
Those that innocently
sparkle joy
at any age
The jewels mishandled,
but somehow
still shining
The unpolished natural gems
that quietly
hold no pretensions
The big and the bold
set in gold or platinum,
delighting in attention
The warm ones
that glow softly
with kindness
The precious ones
here for a short time,
their luster reflected in memory
The deep-pressed diamonds
who discover their worth
only under duress
The cold beauties,
harsh-edged
and full of pain
The clear deep stones
unwavering
in any weather
Every cut and color in creation,
each facet reflecting
under the sun
Egg
Once, the egg of the universe
cracked wide
and spilled into clusters
of planets and stars
in space
And our little blue round,
if only we held it
as tenderly
as any bird ever sheltered
her unhatched brood
Perhaps the mothering sky
waits for the day
that our hearts crack
wide open
and we all fly
Buddha’s Footprints
Follow Buddha’s footprints,
each heel to toe
pressed into stone
They will take you
further than mind allows
and body knows
They will last longer
than a life,
and no less than a heartbeat
Others have walked this way,
barely touching the earth
yet leaving deep impressions
Follow Buddha’s footprints
far enough
and there will only be your own
barely lingering
like dusty sand gently swept
into the wind
Gotta
Gotta hand it to you mothers
you can clean up poop
and pee and barf and still smile
and love your kid like
forever,
like a miraculous flower
never knowing how it will bloom
You don’t feel like you’re “babysitting,”
or having to “watch the kid,”
no, no trying on a role for you
it’s the real deal
until death and even after,
that small body full
of every hope you ever had for the future
Your mothering hands soothe the heart,
your gaze sees every bit of kid,
every fault and crack line
and loves right into the abyss
and beyond,
you mothers
gotta hand it to you
Autumn
You’ve been hiding
under the cat’s paws
and been stepped upon by many feet
yet no harm has come to you behind glass-
nothing touches your hummingbird hope
you can pretend that autumn leaves
are new spring green
but then they crackle and cackle
like old geese and the jig’s up
you really are older than you look
and time presses itself between book pages
into past stories you no longer have time for
and young people want you
to wait for them
to grow up enough to care
but you don’t have time
to wait by their water,
you have to jump
into yours and be splashed by life
with the best possible passion
because it really is autumn,
the long summer has fallen
away, far away
and winter comes
on tiger feet roaring
Used To
I’ve heard people say
you can get used to anything
if you wait long enough
like the hole in the place
where a mind once
thought like yours
or the bare spot
where a tree used to stand
smiling its fruit up
or the cold empty
where warmth once pulsed
between two friends
or the exciting ideas
that have fallen down
and can’t get up
I don’t know if it’s worse
to never get used to anything
that hurts
or to get used to the missing
when someone or something
no longer is
Sea Lions
Among the waves, sea lions glide
diving, swimming side by side
on pier and rock and windy beach
they pile together each on each,
positively thigmotactic
and never needing chiropractic
Sleek of skin and loud of bark
they avoid the Great White Shark,
but never contemplate creation
or humanity’s predation,
they indulge their every whim
to fish and snooze, snooze and swim
When the world has made its final run
completing revolutions round the sun
sea lions will not stress at all
at the dismal fate of this earth ball,
they’ll fish and swim, swim and snooze
not concerned about what they’ll lose
No need to watch their blubbery weight,
any size to them is great,
diving to depths of 900 feet
raw fish to them is quite a treat,
the sea for them is like a gym
where they bark and snort, snort and swim
They sleep 12 hours, just barely tryin’
-I wouldn’t mind being a sea lion.
This week we have a guest blog from Olive Evangeline, an advice columnist from Catmopolitan Magazine, the go-to read for the urban feline. Her “Just Ask Olive” column has become highly popular over the years. She welcomes questions from her readers and will answer any inquiries in the next edition. Thank you, Olive!
Dear Readers, 
I am pleased to present you with “Just Ask Olive,” my advice column for anyone who ever wondered about the relationship between humans and the animal kingdom. I don’t say kingdom lightly. As every cat knows, we are here to be served. Feel free to send comments, questions, and concerns to me via this blog, and I will try to answer them as I find time between daily bathing, eating, and snoozing. Enjoy!
Dear Olive, I would like to show my human some appreciation for her years of service. What do you recommend? -Grateful in Idaho
Dear Grateful,
So, you want to gift your human with a token of your appreciation? It is often difficult to choose between a bird, rodent, or snake. For anniversary or birthday presents, nothing says I adore you like a tasty mouse carcass! To motivate your human to keep up good service, choose a small bird, since cleaning up the feathers will keep her tidying skills tip top. For service beyond the norm, a snake adds a bit of excitement to any household. And for superlative behavior, there’s nothing like bringing in a bat for high entertainment.
Dear Olive, I love my humans, but they are often uncomfortable bedmates at night. Do you have suggestions for a more restful sleep? -Restless in Montreal
Dear Restless,
It is difficult, though not impossible, to get a good night’s rest with humans sharing your bed. Although they are subject to tossing and turning, wrenching the covers, and generally dislodging your perch, there are ways to keep the interference to a minimum. Sleep on your humans’ feet, wedge your body next to theirs and go limp so they are unable to turn over, or snooze on their head to keep them immobilized. Now you can catnap stress-free!
Dear Olive, I am gaining a bit of weight on my kibble, but it tastes better than the canned stuff they keep serving me. How do I maintain my fine furry figure? -Portly in Portland
Dear Portly,
Ah yes, canned food or kibble? While it is not impossible to lose weight eating kibble, it is a slow process. Canned food, though it smells like metal, will definitely shrink those belly bulges. You could also try eating less or chasing other cats around the yard more to reduce pudge poundage. But the real question is, do you care? Luckily, being a cat allows you to love yourself completely, no matter the size of your girth.
Dear Olive, what do you do when your humans are too lazy to clean the litter box properly? -Disgusted in Arizona
Dear Disgusted,
You can always defecate or pee on the bed to get their attention, or barf in their shoes. Other ways to show your displeasure include biting them on the hand when they try to pet you, stomping on their belly in the middle of the night to wake them up, or breaking objects they like. Then there is the death glare, a fierce eye gaze so powerful that you will know you are doing it correctly when your human jumps to do your bidding. (Note the death glare in photo above.) Continue reading
Pause
let us take
a brief pause
in our regularly scheduled
human mayhem
to hold a pine cone
and notice the seeds spiraling
in orderly splendor
of reproduction
and how the fern knows,
without complex calculations,
which way to reach
for the sun
and how flowers,
making no distinctions,
blossom sweetly
among the weeds
and how stones come to rest quietly
where they are placed,
and even earthquakes
open in a line we call fault
and how humans
in their civilized fashion
may be
the wildest things here