stone creek
no rain that summer
no clouds for the sun to part
the stoney bed of the creek so dry,
we walked on it, finding the tiny skeletons
of wild things – a deer mouse, a fish head
a heat deranged cat visited, brown and scraggy,
beaming her anger from yellow eyes,
her maw quirky and dry
her tongue gone mad
a drought-full day
it’s “drought-full” she says,
my japanese friend –
as though it were “dreadful”
which it is, dreadful
the five-year drought
i hunger for rain
drought-full, she says again
pensive, as we stroll B Street
in search of a café, a mojito
sugar, mint, caffeine, ice!
a black gentleman passes
with a nod at her he says
. . . . .Nǐ Hǎo
shizuko keeps walking,
. . . . .says nothing
the man looks puzzled, a bit hurt
he’d meant a courtesy,
greeting her in chinese,
i stop, rest my hand on his arm
“she’s japanese,” i say
by way of explanation,
he smiles then, and
on we walk, shizuko and me
on this hot drought-full day
seeking relief in a mojito
Foraging for Blackberries
Summer arrived a bit ahead of schedule
with dry air, stifling heat, persistent drought,
languid children, too hot and too sleepy.
The weird winter weather put a damper on some crops,
but others arrived earlier than usual …
So here I am, foraging for blackberries in June.
At Tragg’s Market they arrived this morning,
their deep purple tamed, trapped in clear plastic boxes,
stacked by pears tossed on a wayward rumor of fall
– Jamie Dedes
©2015, Jamie Dedes, poems and photo
View Founding and Managing Editor, Jamie Dedes’ bio HERE
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