Winter Storm Warning

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A blast of sun

through gray stillness 

waiting for the Big One. 

Ice cream in the freezer,

Mineola oranges and Fuji

apples in the garage. 

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Mozart in B Flat

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                                        Sergei Babayon, Cleveland Institute of Music Concert


Don't turn away, I am writing about you,
a review. Is your jacket navy or black?

On stage commanding powerful tears,
fingers skip along the keyboard, each key
firm, in tune. Can you hear my breath
inhale deep against your chest?

Gold buttons undone, deftly close

final bows. Your lover waits at the door

with a triumphant toast of champagne.
The Steinway moves many moons.
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Queen of Spades

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Death. Opens the door at a busy interlude.
What were you thinking of Tchaikovsky,
in the warmth of Italy, fleeing
the sub-arctic snows of Russia?

If I were to flee, I'd take my watercolors
and a block of paper, straddle myself
between the ocean and salt air, painting
clouds and sea creatures with a splash
of color, a wash of India ink.
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January 27, 2011

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Indoors the orchid buds

after bare months. In grayness

three birds arrive chirping, 

flapping wings at my window....

A smile blooms. 

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January 26, 2011

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Limelight on a snowflake
briefly on view

one rises, several descend
luminate
and disappear like us.
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Big Sur, on Marielle's Birthday

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Iced daggers guard four corners 

of this house, but my thoughts 


freely roam purple marble
sand kissing sun and sky

                     later

mineral bathe under stars
while the moon touches
the warmth beating on my skin.

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Dancing Toes

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Sometimes I melt into that little girl
that obeys performing as told:


smile for the picture,
look happy, dance on your toes,


always listen. Now
my voice is heard.
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The Concert Begins

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                     Tchaikovsky


Yes, the 4th Symphony begins
a starling passage, I float
on spread wings drifting blue

perched on a branch. Exhale
the view downward of earth
and others, then look to the sky
above these spotted wings.

The fear of height escapes.

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In a River of Amber Stones

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Write a poem a day, lower your heartrate,
      Correlate cells easing body pain. Create

A book, nuggets of joyful songs
      In a river of amber stones.
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Through the Living Room Window

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Milk caressing color
Overshadows the landscape

Snow Effect at Giverny
A soft prism of violet

Here in January
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Note: Claude Monet 1893 painting.

Beneath a Single Moon

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I wear my robe half open
white butterflies between pink azaleas
writing dreams on bones.
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Ari's Birds

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I watch inside cold window panes

plump squirrels bathe in seeds

the storm approaches

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Lightning

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Stravinsky Firebird
ballet, on television
a new world begins.
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Fire & Folly, La Folia

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Frenzy. Dance around fire-eyes

blindfolded by heat, toes grabble earth,

long skirts sway, led by his arm.

I capture their movements writing 

in this notebook. Eyes on the young

men, their gesturing hands invite 

hidden thoughts.

Dance around the fires, the heat 

scorches the rim of my skirt, your shirt.

Eyes close.
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January 16, 2011

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Sun clouds glisten
icicles stream from the roof
Blessings
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Lake Effect

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Arctic paradise white evergreens
attach to house, the plastic owl
does not falter in stillness.
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Arctic Wonder

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A blizzard of snow leaves behind
Dr. Zhivago’s troika. Three horses
rush past and wink at me.
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Note: Troika, a Russian carriage
drawn by three horses harnessed side-by-side.

January 13, 2011

Two feet of snow bombards the coast
Prayer flags waver, faded on the porch.

January 12, 2011

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Birds hide
in still grayness. A dusting
of white powdered sugar
covers earth.

Snowplow rushes
down the bare street,
I wait for the Snowbird.
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