b-t-c nose scarlet

Bluffo the clown, nose scarlet

bloated, threatening to burst

with the frustration of failure

to silence multiple sources

of accusation demanding accountability

incredulous that his outrageous

impropriety yields not stuttering

agreement as it has always done

but reasonable further leverage

against him, calling it justice

no clown is above the law

—poor Bluffo

osprey wait

osprey waited days in high nest

for her mate to arrive from far off

the pair now huddle

among the sticks

in rain so fat it splatters

drenching the wait now

for eggs that will need warming

and insistent little mouths

that will demand to be fed