Collage

                               It's fun to put things together,
                          that you know would never belong;
               they bounce and they clash, add a bit of panache,
                            and, (sometimes), they all get along!

Photo op

                        If you're looking for interesting angles
                           to capture the bridge full-scale;
             there are many around, but the best I have found
                            is from under a billowing sail.

Aging?

                            In all of this splendorous color,

                             do I detect a grey hair or two?

           Can there be other creatures who alter their features

                           with age, like the rest of us do?

Appreciation

                              I'm due to get an award today,
                                       for service to A.C.T;
                       it's surely a gem, but it should go to them,
                           for how much they have meant to me!

Fair Warning

                              I saw it, I caught it, I'll eat it,

                                   it's what I was born to do;

                      and if you think you'll try to rescue this fool,

                                  I'll take a piece of you too!

Arboreal art

                        It's nice that we're all brother branches,

                                 part of the same mother tree;

                       but we each have a say in how to display

                                        our unique identity. 

Cute coots

                                       Hey little cooties,
                              you are welcome one and all!
                   I hope you'll find what you had in mind,
                                 I'm glad you came to call!

Dreamboats

                            Oh what a wonderful feelng,

                           to see all those boats in the air;

                       if you're only 5, you're intensely alive,

                        and you know they really are there!

                                                                   (Thanks to Judy Bellini)

"sermons in stones"

                  When you see a wall made of cut stone,

                     and you see what a statement it makes. -

                  when one man alone has to fit every stone,

                         you revere the devotion it takes!

Sun dance

                             I didn't know this 'til I saw it,

                              and I saw it purely by chance -

                 when, with colors so bright, a strong shaft of light

                             set all the leaves off in a dance.

Who am I?

                       I don't have long legs like a Daddy-long,
                      and I don't have nice wings like a moth,
              I'm afraid, to my shame, that I don't know my name, - 
                                      can anyone tip me off?

Dem bones

                            It's nice to be part of the action,

                          to hear children laugh and not fear;

                      but I must say for us, it's nice that the fuss

                                 only comes once in a year!

Shaky throne?

                                Why is this poor lion howling,

                                 he clearly is not so well off;

                   since he's hardly at home on his circular throne,

                           do you think he's afraid he'll fall off?

Cat tales

                            We may not look very important,

                          but our usefulness has been archival:

        you can munch on our roots, weave our fronds into roofs,

                            we're here to ensure your survival.

Flower power

                            If I were a little groundhog,

                          coming out of my hole for a spin,

              when I saw all these towers of powerful flowers,

                           I  think I would scurry back in.

Pulsing

                          My art teacher had a conviction,

                "There must be a pulse in your work", she said;
           "If it's soft, add some strong, too short, add some long, -

                           If you don't pulse, you're dead"

Since WHEN?

                            I see you as just a wee insect,

                         but they say you are older than men;

               that your folks were at home when dinosaurs roamed,  - 

                          what's kept you going since then?

Preview

                             Someone is cackling happily,

                          and wearing that demonic grin;

        so warm up your gooks, and bring out your spooks,

                       I'm afraid it's that season again!

City seen

                    When you're driving along through the city,
                            and this is the scene that you see;
                     I know it's a task, but you do have to ask,         
                               is it them or could it be me?

Water 'wows'

                               To watch any falling water

                                is a favorite pastime for me;

                    it bashes and splashes and finally crashes,

                             leaving me gasping with glee!

Who, me?

                You stand right there by the side of the road,

                   and give me that wistful glance;

              with your innocent eyes and that lovable guise, - 

                     but it's you that's eating my plants!

Something fishy

                            I love to co-mingle with fishes,

                         when swimming amongst them all;

                      but if I'm not there,  I'm happy to share

                               their images on the wall.

                                                                                       (art by Laura Lee Fritz)

Hiding?

                     Sometimes you see something peeking

                          from under an interesting shelf;

                   you don't know its name or from where it came,

                            but you like it, - just for itself.

Wood you?

                         If you're looking for variation,
                        your photo-op spots are no good;
                   try something new, see what you can do
                             with a pile of decaying wood.

Mourning Mahatma

                       These days I like to remember the man

                             who tried to bring peace to men;

                  while other men fight for their right to be right, 

                               I wish he'd come back again!

Legacy

                     I am  struck with the beauty of these vivid trails
                     that the vines leave behind when they cease;
                    it reminds us to strive in the hopes that our lives
                         may live on beyond us like these.

sunset???

                              Sometimes a picture's so crazy,
                                 its colors, its shapes, so intense;
                              don't let it annoy, just try to enjoy,
                               and don't try to make any sense!

Doomsday?

                      We think there's disaster looming,

                    when we see clouds like this in the skies;

           but a wind comes along and the dark clouds are gone, - 

                     we should treat all our worries likewise!

Color blinded

                      It's hard when you're dazzled with color,

                             to find where your eye can rest;

                       in all that riot find one spot of quiet,

                        or choose which shade you like best.

Crabby gab

                         I love to watch all of you scamper around. 
                             you're each just as cute as a pup,
                   and so good to eat, -  but you're too petite,
                            why don't you ever grow up?

So smile!

                        I know that some smiles are phonies,

                               or part of an unctuous style,

                     but I have to say, if you're coming my way,

                           I'm a pushover for a real smile!

Identity crisis

                             My name is Jeremy, I'm a giraffe,

                                  or so they said at the store;

                     but all I have found is to bob up and down,

                              I thought a giraffe would do more.