unplugged

relent
fade to black

into the beleaguered night
wearing gumboots and sweaters

allowing for now only
stillness and nothing but

my starved retinas, I
listen to your breathing

just you and me and our lungs
heaving the weight of air

each inhale a promise
all the way to dawn

and the first birdsong
from inside the virgin

forest, earth music calling
we are connected, we are

then a dry twig snapping
is the fear I’ve been dying for

Picnic at Spanish Banks with Les Miserables

on the beach on this perfect summer evening
I’ve laid out a Mexican blanket woven with turquoise and ochre
and a fine spread of wild sockeye with tarragon
parmesan rolls and French organic wine
glass goblets from home and snap peas
picked fresh from my pesticide-free garden

Stupid Hypocrisy

Lately I’m feeling disgust for my species; we’re a stupid species who fouls its nest and fouls the nest of every other living creature on earth.
Blind to our stupidity, we operate as if we’re the only species that matters. Just one example of countless examples: when people come back from their Caribbean holidays and tell me they’ve swum with dolphins. They always say how incredible it was and their oblivious cruelty makes me cringe. I think of the dolphins, the tragedy of their caged existence, how they must swim up to each new human that enters their cage hoping that maybe this will be a smart human who will set them free. It’s a glaring testimony to the dolphin’s superiority and intelligence that they don’t harm the stupid humans who enter their cage.