Category Archives: Neighborhood

A Wash of Love

Posted on March 29, 2024 by sputterpub

I rode BART after sunset Wednesday night,my body tired and my brain adrift,and realized I was feeling quite all right.I gazed at others, and I sensed a liftof love for everyone within my sight.Sensation washed inside me like a gift,and … Continue reading →

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Absence of Trellis

Posted on March 26, 2024 by sputterpub

The wood above the fence of brick was old.Some slats were sprung, and ivy compromisedits verticality and too its hold,but still the trellis partially disguisedthe low part of the house I recognizedas rightful building in a neighbor’s yard.With that in … Continue reading →

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American Red Squirrel

Posted on March 15, 2024 by sputterpub

My daughter photos roadkill that she meets,and maybe that’s why I paused yesterdayto pay attention, walking different streets,to this expired squirrel. But the wayhis body rested, in supine array,exhibited uniqueness to my sight.His chest and belly shone in soft display.I … Continue reading →

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What Now Is

Posted on March 7, 2024 by sputterpub

Of course I love the smell of printed ink.My prized possession always was a book.My favorite job was bookstore clerk, I think,and every move I made for shelves, until –the kids moved out and small became my kink;and independent merchants … Continue reading →

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Like a Traffic Cone

Posted on March 4, 2024 by sputterpub

The crate appeared last week and blocked the path.My neighbor’s name was on it, but insideit was a puzzle. Though I took a bathbefore I left, the box did not subside,and it still towered unidentifieduntil the morning light revealed, unpacked,an … Continue reading →

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Sycamore

Posted on February 29, 2024 by sputterpub

Encountering a bole of sycamore,it stopped me as it often has before.I touch its textured bark, its patterned scalelike camouflage or puzzle pieces, palebeneath and shading gray to green. It’s planeelsewhere, and pollarded in parks, but rangefrom root to upward, … Continue reading →

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Top o’ the Walk

Posted on February 19, 2024 by sputterpub

With all the ways to amble to the store,the prettiest includes a two-block hill.It isn’t steep – my vigor can endureit, but most days I’d rather skip it. Still,the view is worth the effort, and what’s more,I’ll bus home laden … Continue reading →

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Drainage

Posted on February 15, 2024 by sputterpub

I didn’t measure and I don’t have stats,but we’ve absorbed a spate of rain this year.If quantity is up to last year, that’ssignificant. So far the bricks appearless damp where they abut the floor, and nearthe hearth the mortar doesn’t … Continue reading →

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Snucco

Posted on February 8, 2024 by sputterpub

They snuck the stucco on one day last week.I must have been away from home – I heardno indication, saw no skilled technique.It’s been a while since I’ve penned a wordabout the houses blocking my obliqueperspective, for this is at … Continue reading →

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Scourge Surge

Posted on January 3, 2024 by sputterpub

I’ve co-existed with the critters here –the garden is their home as much as mine –and wasn’t overbothered till this year,when building on my eastern boundary line,and now the north, has changed the biosphere.Too many skunks no longer seem benign.I’ll … Continue reading →

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