Archive for the ‘Poetry’ Category

Male Broad-banded Swallowtail–II   2 comments

Male Broad-banded Swallowtail — Image by kenne

A butterfly is a question
with wings.
This one asks it slowly,
circling cattails and light,
as though the answer might be
something you feel, not know.

— kenne

Driving Through The Grand Teton National Park   1 comment

Clouds Over The Grand Teton National Park (06/06/23) — image by kenne

We leave Yellowstone—
the road straightens,
mountains step back into order.

Broken clouds hold the sun
like a shutter half-closed.

— kenne

Sharing Berries   6 comments

Cedar Waxwings Sharing Berries — Image by kenne 

They pass a berry

beak to beak, politely,

as if time allows this. 

— kenne

Sunset: The First Of Many To Come   4 comments

Sunset — Image by kenne

The sun sets
not because it is tired,
but to remind us
that endings
are another way
the soul learns trust.

— kenne

Mushroom Art   2 comments

Mushroom Art — Image by kenne

On dead wood

color breaks open:

spores, brushstrokes, breath.

The forest practices

its oldest craft—reuse.

— kenne

A Lesser Goldfinch Morning   1 comment

Lesser Goldfinch — Image by kenne

This morning in southern Arizona,
the goldfinch wears yellow
like a small declaration.
I imagine he woke early
just to coordinate with the light,
while I stumbled out here
in whatever the day gave me.

— kenne

Whitewater Draw – 2026   Leave a comment

Waterfowl and Wading Birds at Whitewater Draw, January 2026 – Image by kenne

Another season, another return.
The birds arrive, faithful as gravity.
If they ever stop coming,
don’t ask the birds why—
ask the men who drained the water.

— kenne

Good Morning From Sabino Canyon   Leave a comment

Good Morning from Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne

The day begins
not with noise
but with attention.
Sabino Canyon opens its hands,
and the light settles in—
a blessing
that asks only
to be noticed.

— kenne

Birdbill Dayflower   Leave a comment

Birdbill Dayflowers On Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne

There is always this temptation
to keep walking,
to believe forward motion
is the same as purpose.
But the Birdbill dayflower
interrupts me—
a blue so exact it feels deliberate.
I kneel.
The mountain does not applaud.
It allows me this moment
of belonging,
as if I have earned nothing
and been given everything.

— kenne

Morning Clouds   Leave a comment

Morning Clouds After Overnight Rains — Image by kenne

Clouds resting on ridge.
Ridge resting in clouds.
No coming,
no going—
only this.

— kenne

Anticipation   Leave a comment

Children Playing in a Park Water Fountain — Image by kenne

The fountain, meanwhile,
enjoys the power of suspense,
teaching a brief seminar
on anticipation
to a very captive audience.

— kenne

Two Cedar Waxwings   1 comment

Two Cedar Waxwings Resting in A Mesquite — Image by kenne

Two cedar waxwings
sit close on the bare mesquite,
their small bodies sharing the cold.
I watch, and learn again
how companionship survives the season.

— kenne

Eastern Bluebird Waiting For A Ride   1 comment

Eastern Bluebird — Image by kenne

An eastern bluebird
lost his way to Tucson,
sits on a dead twig
like he’s waiting on a ride
that ain’t coming.

— kenne

Intuition Enjoys Life and Its Challenges   Leave a comment

Female Phainopepla In Sabino Canyon — Photo-artistry by kenne

Whenever we need
to make a very important decision
it is best to trust our instincts,
because reason usually tries to
remove us from our dream,
saying that the time is not yet right.
Reason is afraid of defeat,
but intuition enjoys life and its challenges.

— Paulo Coelho

 

Nurses Will Not Backdown   3 comments

Kenne Getting Some Arizona Sun On Our Patio
While here he spent some time running in Sabino Canyon
in preparation for a half-marathon this February.

Kenne David is visiting us on my birthday, January 15, 2026. He is an ICU nurse in the Texas Medical Center in Houston. What follows is a poem I wrote after learning of the murder of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

I can only try to imagine your words and thoughts echo in the long corridors of Memorial Herman,
where the scent of antiseptic mingles with your compassion.

I think of him — of Alex Pretti — and of all who labor, sleepless,

hands trembling not with fear, but with the weight of mercy.

Each life touched, each breath steadied,
a verse in the grand poem of endurance and love,

something Whitman would write: you do not falter;
rise again the next day, mortal yet eternal,

each healer a leaf upon the same vast tree of humanity.