redundancy

In all,
the days have gone so fast
that I did not
could not
get past the pile of duties
that I say
kept me from here
until this day.

winter

keeps a steady pace
of snow and ice and
wind burned face.

I swear they said
the other day that
cold this year
would stay away.

birds

at the feeder
flap about
and flip the seed parts
into snow.

heat

welds the air in solid steam
while leaves are drained
to lop and lilt.

dead bees

pile up in the bottom of the hive
and I wonder if I could have really kept them alive
with my pesty no pest strips and sugar water blood.

I brush them onto soft cold mud.

rattlesnake

curly coiled on twisted stump
he buzzes with his rattle rump
too close to home to leave alone
and with a squeeze behind his head
i carry him with speedy tread
up and over through the wood
and drop him in a new place good
to live away from human fears
he rattles, smiles, and disappears.

bush hog

so tall and thick
the grass and trees
and weeds and vines
and flies and bees
evaporate into the dust
of spinning blades and
windy gust
of air so hot
it cooks the day
and spinning round
a turn
I splay
into the nest
of fluffy fresh
new chicks at rest
and killing two
and watching three
escape with mother
to the tree
I sift the rubble
of their place
and find one
under just a trace
of eggshell
and I
take it
home.