The fat cats are squirrels They scare away sparrows Like fury Kongs they hang in gangs They swing from feeders like pirate raiders Slinging nuts and seed like wild west thieves Chasing off chickadees like outlaws at the bar ___________Colleen Redman / Poets United / Imaginary Garden with Real Toads
I’m distracted from my task of washing late November beets to look up all the meanings of “Red” Challenged to describe their ruby round bodies more royal than rosy more burgundy than blush I cut off their tops their blood mixes with water to make a fuchsia-filled dishpan sprinkled with dirt More cherry than apple […]
From falling in and out and drifting in between comes morning’s rude awakening when I forget what I did in my dreams _______________Colleen Redman / Poets United / Imaginary Garden with Real Toads
They’re boots A half-size too big But they don’t slip off All-weather and black I imagine them taking me to the wild places she loved Did she wear them in D.C. when we protested the war or when she fed feral cats in the rain? Broken-in but still useful Dark and official I never wanted […]
I lost a favorite earring in last night’s dream I saw my father old as he would be now if he hadn’t died in 2005 I dreamt of a shiny dress that belonged to my mother I didn’t want to wear it but wouldn’t give it away I bought a house by the ocean with […]
Red roasted day Breeze spreads like butter Chimes celebrate fall’s feast of color Steeped in Indian summer sun shades of cinnamon honey and pumpkin Cardamom, cloves nutmeg and ginger turn up the flavor of fall’s spicy simmer __________Colleen Redman / Poets United / Imaginary Garden with Real Toads
It’s like falling asleep on the subway and missing my stop Like the first day of kindergarten and my mother drives me to school but forgets to tell me she’s going to leave me there and leaves without saying goodbye It’s the first day of kindergarten and everyone but me knows how to write their […]
My husband has tools for digging potatoes but I like to use my hands Reaching down deep into the musty dark soil mounded up like swollen bellies I feel around for the curve of their bodies wiggle them loose like teeth Born into my hand without the sharp edge of a shovel more than twins […]
Like Kanye with MAGA hat and cape? Like an athlete on steroids? Like tiger-blooded Charlie Sheen? Is winning really everything? Would Trump have won the presidency without the help of Russians? Is winning the record for telling lies really winning? Are you winning at someone else’s expense? Can you win them all? Have you lost […]
It’s like writing a poem every night from scratch I don’t know how to do it or believe it’s going to happen but every night it does I wake but don’t open my eyes I don’t put demands on the day or guide the direction of thoughts I don’t want the first thing I remember […]
Conserving energy and reading Emerson “Our life is an apprenticeship to truth… Around every circle another can be drawn” and repeated without end throughout nature Church bells ring as I lie in the corpse pose Holding my emotions like a bouquet Confidence wilts as I wait to meet my destiny Doubt is a minefield of […]
1st comes the heartbeat then the search for the nectar in the Garden of Eden on an island called Mother Next comes the first cry and the need to be rocked I got my start in rocking cradles Keeping time with the poem eternal Then went on to harder stuff Not trusting the heartbeat would […]
Lovely as lilies and sweet as peas Emily loves Josh like shamrocks are lucky Josh loves Emily like sunflowers love sun Glad as gladiolas Gold as chrysanthemums Happy as daisies We’re pleased as bees For Josh and Emily’s blooms and blessings As dear as dahlias in every color Their forget-me-not love is the rarest flower […]
Like a maestro conducting three networks at once I flip discordant channels looking for escape Soundbites break skin What isn’t said blares loudly I watch the burning house with people inside it They show engulfed bodies then move to feel-good fluff while the warden tries to convince me the firefighters are the enemy ________Colleen Redman […]
The days of life scatter like the goldfinches on Woods Gap Road The closer I get the faster they go in a fleeting ripple of beauty that won’t be seen up close Rising from the roadsides they leave me in the dust They fly from my heart like children who have grown like children never […]
Poets Rhyme Sugar with Teacup and Saucer. They alliterate Morning with Mug. My friends Katherine and Chelsea and I were recently asked to read our tea poems at a Ladies Tea, held at the Manor House Teas in Floyd. There were savories and sweets, sips of wine and tea, along with our poetic brews. Katherine read […]
Crepe-myrtle is summer’s answer to lilacs in the spring Happy girls bouncing with berry-red pom poms shaking in the breeze while ironweed purple and goldenrod yellow in September school colors play the field ___________Colleen Redman / Poets United / Imaginary Garden with Real Toads
We are a crossword puzzle When I go down you go across but we meet at some point to make sense of each other Every word counts Every blank space is a mirror to see ourselves better _____________Colleen Redman / Poets United / Imaginary Garden with Real Toads
