Early Peonies
the peony buds
and their very own
army of ants
on maneuvers
don't know tophats
from tapioca
but a wind
from the southwest
they recognize
Seeing Snyder Again in the 80's
He's much the same
truckin' stride
mountain goat demeanor
Tibetan about the eyes —
a feisty sprite
after his talk
I come up to him
in a coat & tie
and Italian leather shoes
— gray in my hair
and paunch from citywide
wheel of parentkarma
introduce myself
& he cocks his head
leans back a step
and eyes me quizzically
I say
referring to the way I'm dressed
"Yup, it's me, all right"
He fixes me with a glance
And
referring to his own getup
(short patrician haircut
[Bubbs Creek update]
professorial reading glasses
neat blue suit coat
snappy old tie
& buttondown shirt
— still the earring [diamonds, now]
& still three humpbacked flute players
on his belt buckle — )
says
"Yup, it's me, too!"
with eye crinkle
and gold tooth smile
13:X:83
Joey (2001-2016)
for Orion and Lynn
our beautiful yellow cat
who spoke to us so eloquently
always groomed my beard
as he did his father
and his siblings
and even inside
his dog's ears
died yesterday
even as he was dying
he smelled like fresh-cut hay
I wept and kissed his forehead
then each of his pure white boots
then curled him in a shoebox
and placed him in the basement freezer
until next spring
when we'll bury him
under the lilac hedge
next to his father
I will forever
see his upright stripy tail
cutting through the wildflowers
as he makes his way home
—————————
Ken McCullough
DARK STARS
Red Dragonfly Press
2017
