Category Archives: Neighborhood

Jacaranda (An Etude)

Posted on July 2, 2018 by sputterpub

The legend of the Jacaranda tree was told to me one Saturday in June. I loved committing it to memory; by 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, I knew the tale as if it were my own. I swallowed Amazon mythology, … Continue reading →

Posted in Legends, Neighborhood, Poetry | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Macro v Micro

Posted on June 14, 2018 by sputterpub

The nation is imperilled by the dumb reactions of an unschooled populace. The climate changes while the best are numb and most are trending down to ignorance. A hundred species each year disappear as troubles co-evolve and companies seek profit … Continue reading →

Posted in Neighborhood, Poetry | Tagged | Leave a comment

Outside Cat

Posted on May 29, 2018 by sputterpub

Your kitty is a house cat – not a beast of prey. And though I’ve seen her kill a bird, her instincts are dim echoes we’ve decreased with centuries of breeding. It’s absurd to think she wants a veldt or … Continue reading →

Posted in Critters, Neighborhood, Poetry | Tagged | Leave a comment

Bus Stop

Posted on March 13, 2018 by sputterpub

Arriving at the bus stop yesterday, my app displayed the disappointing news: a dozen minutes late! (That’s half the way I’d planned to ride.) And so I got to choose a standing wait with phone and book, or stroll with … Continue reading →

Posted in Neighborhood, Poetry | Leave a comment

Neighborhood Shops

Posted on October 25, 2017 by sputterpub

Overheard in the Elmwood area of Berkeley, one October afternoon, as Del’s path crossed that of a middle-aged couple: He (looking at the “Available” sign where Jeremy’s used to be): “Another one gone.” She (with a glance at the storefront … Continue reading →

Posted in Neighborhood | Leave a comment

Pop Beads

Posted on October 16, 2017 by sputterpub

Delightful weather summoned me outside again, though I’d acquired what I’d need for now, tonight, tomorrow. I could bide within, but sun and wafting breeze decreed that I inhale the local air and tread upon the cracked concrete. I thought … Continue reading →

Posted in Neighborhood, Poetry, Weather | Leave a comment

Ears

Posted on October 11, 2017 by sputterpub

Del is an active eavesdropper. That’s not to say she kneels at keyholes or holds glasses up to walls (although she did that once, in a Chicago hotel with her husband, to try to decipher what the couple next door … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Neighborhood | Leave a comment

Choppers

Posted on September 26, 2017 by sputterpub

The chop of helicopters overhead does not create a happy atmosphere. I’m not too old to recollect the dread machines surveilling us and shooting tear gas canisters when I attended school, and though today they’re shooting news for us, at … Continue reading →

Posted in Neighborhood, Poetry | Leave a comment

Stripey and the Yard Birds

Posted on September 18, 2017 by sputterpub

I saw two hummingbirds beneath the crows that visited, the bold above the shy. The corvids sat the looming tree, in rows of roosting gossip, as trochilidae sought nectar from the blossoms in the yard (the nicotiniana over sage). The … Continue reading →

Posted in Critters, Neighborhood, Poetry | Leave a comment

From the Molehill

Posted on September 13, 2017 by sputterpub

A few years ago, the city of Berkeley installed a new variety of street crossing signals. On some busy corridors we now have the option of pressing a button for assistance. That will cause yellow lights to pulse for about … Continue reading →

Posted in Neighborhood | Leave a comment