Long Nuthatch Poems

Angela, Andy, Amber, angels, ambience, attitudes, altitude, all-purpose flour.
Beds, breakfast, brightness, brevity, butter pecan ice cream, bald eagles. 
Cali, Carolyn, Chelsea, creativity, compassion, craftiness, cleverness. 
Dick, Daisy, Dwight, Deborah, dare devils, delightful deeds, designs.
Emily, Elise,...

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In the mountains it’s our tradition to delay our morning walk
so we can listen to the morning choir that begins promptly at six-o’clock.

Yes, at six-o’clock every morning without uttering a word
as the dawn breaks over...

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Scavenging squirrels search for acorns, scratching old stumps from trees. 
Scampering up my sugar maple, they steal my bird feeder seeds. 
Sleepy salamanders wake from their slumber to sleep on slippery stones,
Then search for a...

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The songs of birds can be heard
send a message without a word.
Skeptics say they're just sound
others find them quite profound.
A peaceful call to nature's mind
from winged friends of every kind.

Listen with the ears of your...

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You come in such humongous flocks
to lunch at my well stocked seed box.
You stay until each grain is gone,
call in the troops and journey on.
Why are you such a greedy fellow,
black-bird with wings of red...

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I set up my writing spot in front of the window
Then, I found myself in this ongoing trance
Nature was on stage, it chose to put on a show
As the cold wind blew, I watched all...

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As I sit on the bench, watching nature's lively moments,
The Tufted Titmouse, Chickadee and Nuthatch look at me
Their small beady eyes are staring in the air
The Robin bounce near the Mourning Dove on the lawn
I...

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Could you sit with me awhile?
	You need not speak.
	You need not listen.
Just sit and look, scan the yard,
	watch the trees as they shed their leaves,
	see the holly and its bright berries
	turning red against the green.
Watch...

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The white-breasted nuthatch
upside down the ancient bole.
If it has no soul, neither do I.

Pencils criss-crossed on the desk,
sticks tangled on the ground.
Oblong lenticels, yellow stars.

We try to worship the divine
in our sexual partners. They shit...

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Who among you is named Clark?
"I am!" said the meadow lark
Who here bares the name of Pearl?
"I do!" said the eastern squirrel
Who's a mean old Visigoth?
"That's me!" said the lazy sloth
Who's the biggest silly nerd?
"Me!"...

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In the holy spot
with a sitting rock,
an oak. In back
yards, shagbark 
hickory and maple.

Ants climb the rock.
August, birds
celebrate flowering
weeds, the seeds
of autumn to come.

I am here to name it
and know it and help it
to grow....

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On the back deck,
snow has turned two empty chairs,
sitting beside the shrouded grill,
into phantoms with open arms
waiting for corn to roast,
peppers to lose their crisp edges,
onions to gather sweetness,
and shrimp to hold their fibrous flavor
for...

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Looking at the backyard down through a window 
Brought a smile on my lips watching the scene below

A squirrel was sniffing around some bushes
Another one was scurrying up and down on oak tree branches

A humming...

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The bare trees stood waiting for their buds
A new chapter of growth and beauty to begin
Lush green color will take over the landscape
Long before the multiple colors will explode
A bear scraped bark off a tree...

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