Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The Crooked Tree

It took
 I'd say
   100 years
     And more
       To grow
         And down
          It came
            In about
                     One hour.
                     It pained me
                   To watch
              The tall
              Tall tree
              Which grew
             Too crooked
                           Fall.
                   And now
                   It towers
                   Over our
               Little house
                   No more.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

This Morning

Do not be appalled
at how much sugar I like
on my hot oatmeal.

Feeding Breakfast to a Bear

You could say, I suppose,
we should be thankful.
He ate the stuffed red peppers out of the freezer
The ones that Tom really did not want
To eat more of
And
He left the apple strudel
Which I made last night.
The one that I really did want
To eat more of.

Around 5 a.m. I heard the noise,
Not too loud
But not too quiet
I thought something was in the wall
Because it has been.  A lot.
So I did not wake Tom.

Then Andy started barking,
Summit perked her ears
and Tom woke up.
“Hush Andy,” he said.
“No, there’s an animal.
Can you hear it?”

I usually stay in bed
Sitting up and shaking
When I hear noises in the night,
But this time I stood
and looked over the railing.
It was different somehow
This time.

“It’s inside” I whispered.
There was tinfoil on the floor.
I thought it was the strudel
Which I had left on the counter.

Now we were wide awake.
We shut the dogs in the bedroom
And both stood at the railing.
Tom got dressed.

"Go away bear" he shouted.
There was one last big scruffly noise
And then it was quiet.
I got dressed.

He ventured downstairs.
The dining room window was wide open
With the screen bent and twisted outside.
The refrigerator and freezer were open too.

I turned on the lights
And out on the back deck
Sat the bear
Eating the filling out of the pepper.
(Hmmm.  That’s how I ate it too.)
Black with pinkish ears.

Tom shined a flashlight at him
And off he went
Into the forest
Leaving only a scratch on the sill
And prints on the walls.

We think he will be back again tonight
For round number three.

Can we come stay with you?

He Was Not

He was not so charming
From very close up.
The snout of a pig
Wisps of hair.
Little eyes.
My teddy bear is cuter, I think.

The tag in his ear was number 13
A known trouble maker,
I've been told.
Not aggressive though.

I haven't found out
What has happened to him.
I wonder, but I
Do not want to know.

In a Cabin

In a cabin in the woods
A little man by the window stood
Saw a rabbit hopping by
Knocking at his door
"Help me, help me, help me", cried
Or the hunter will shoot me dead
Come little rabbit come inside
Gently we'll abide

Out of all of the childhood songs I sang, I am not sure why this one sticks with me.  On the first night in our new home in the woods, of all things, I was singing this in my head.  Hence the inspiration for the title of my new blog.  Thoughts and stories of home, my favorite place to be (except when I'm traveling).