communication

if truth is not valued

if proof is not required or heeded

how can we speak together

and honor what is said and thought?

or each other?

blackened scream

haiku

 blackened stick-figure

pines on columbia’s cliffs scream

fool boys play with fire

timberline lodge

haiku

massive stone fireplace

four stories high, three open

grates to warm skiers

            mjNordgren  7/19/2022  Gov’t Camp

anticipating autumn

anticipating autumn

haiku

pines bend to the wind

gossip mountain laurel will

soon bare soul—and branch

            mjNordgren  7/20/22  Welches

nielsen

john nielsen hunches over the piano keys, caresses a single note, sways

with its reverberations, lifts and allows

each hand to find the music message to bring forth and share

with our congregation with tinkling patterns, runs, bursts

of loud and soft, healing and stirring joy so deep within it fosters memories

of moments of peace with beloveds now long gone from us

sermon without words

earned trust

earned trust

haiku

knowing her deeply

recommendation comes true

spring rain for concerned

like mama, like fawn

inquisitive doe strides the yard

sniffs at the flower bowl bird feeder

rejects (thank goodness) the taste of nasturtiums and birdseed

and moves on to further inspection

toddled after by tiny fawn, no longer speckled but as curious

as mom and startled to look around finally to find her gone

it scampers after

wind-driven stars and stripes

 awing, what a piece of cloth can say

curling, whipping upwards like a flame

twisting, unfurling to full banner in the wind

silently relating history and sacrifice

pride, hope, people striving for better

extending white and red as though to reach for freedom for everyone

showcasing stars, that, like celestial bodies above, shine on all below

long may it wave

la sin duh

haiku

lingering dislike

breeds fault finding when

i can’t walk away

putting on airs

air galivants, twisting, spiraling

flipping directions in all curved corners

of a sphere we cannot see

except as it pushes playfully

or with malice against limbs

furling, flaming, flaunting flags

causing whispered murmurings in pines

whipping dust up into devils

dropping in gray-purple funnels

as tornados or gleefully lifting birds

on unseen highway thermals

air is an active creature we humans

pretend is still until it blows us over

wind-animated stars and stripes

  awing, what a piece of cloth can say

curling, whipping upwards like a flame twisting

unfurling to full banner in the wind

silently relating history and sacrifice

pride, hope, people striving for better

extending white and red

as though to reach for freedom for all

showcasing stars, that, like celestial bodies above, shine on all below

long may it wave

            mjNordgren  7/4/2022  Blue house, Lincoln City

i cannot kiss it better for her

diabetes is a sneak fighter, attacking all systems

forgiving no mistakes, punishing all rebellion

damaging limbs, eyes, kidneys for every non-compliance

demanding daily obsequience and robbing future health

dream on

once upon a time

a young woman clung to the dream

of a house on a hill overlooking mountains

and surrounded by loving children and grandchildren

she had no idea how beautifully that dream would be fulfilled

but she is grateful

extensive foundation

shoulders drooping in fatigue

my daughter leans against the wall

but a small smile brightens her eyes

as her husband talks of the wedding

party now off to all their own corners

of the nation

their son and now daughter-in-law

as well as -in-love back in new york

they realize gratefully that the reception

banquet hall had been filled with people

who will support and cherish

the newlyweds for the rest

of their lives

   mjNordgren 6/26/2022 blue house, lincoln city

joyous wedding

 deep in Portland’s Rhododendron Gardens, in a clear space overlooking

ducks and Canada geese flutter-stepping to launch from still lake

a simple frame decorated with old roses, crème-white and dusty pink

witty friend officiates joyous union of grandson

and his brilliant, beautiful wife-to-be

two devoted to each other through Pomona College

and Columbia Law School

celebration supper of salmon and slides of the couple growing up

in loving families and among loyal friends

who travelled from all over this country and Europe

to be with them in their commitment to each other

and i, proud grandma, privileged to attend

                        mjNordgren  6/25/2022  Portland

what a day!

 grandson, grown up a thousand

miles away, now a high school graduate

come for his cousin’s wedding

so i get to spend a day of joy

with daughter-in-law, much-missed son

and D exploring Powell’s Books

and dining on the Washington side

of the Columbia River at Beaches

with Voo-Doo donuts for dessert

what a day!

two-and-a-half hour party

 prime time family celebration

two generations only; the next is busy

with their own lives

but we find solace in each other

venting, informing, telling tales on each other

and on ourselves

admitting our vulnerability in laughter

but knowing we are heard

remark this gift

remark this gift

haiku

 contemplative rain

dictating pause and reflect

gifting perspective

layered sunrise

thunderous blue cloudbank wedged upward by pink-purples

a tier of magenta and another of orange-gold

each layer succeeded by brighter rose-golds infused

with incipient sunlight,startling with promise

Write a Title Here

from my foothill of the Coastal Range with Mt. Hood just awakening.

not yet

not yet

frightened? yes, a little

all my life i’ve been independent

but now the vertigo threatens; the pandemic limits

the grass grows to my waist; cobwebs drape from high ceilings

over six months i’ve grown old

but not old enough to give in