Friday, August 29, 2014

Daddy-long-legs

Every time I walk into the dark bathroom at the office,
I worry that I'm going to be attacked by a spider,
Daddy-long-legs is going to be waiting by the light switch
to jump on my hand and bite me when
I touch the wall trying to find it.

To my relief, he is still over in the corner
in his web, and hasn't moved at all.
I really should sweep him away, but
I like the idea that he might be eating other bugs.
Uh-oh, now there are two spiders. Maybe he's a she.

by:  Paula Dean Nevison

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Annoying Bug Turned Lady

A bug flew by
the corner of my eye.
It made me blink. I flipped my hair
in hopes that it would disappear.

A ladybug lit upon my chest.
It quietly crawled across my breast.
I slowly placed my hand in front of it.
Up on my finger, then away she flit.

What began as a trial
left me with a smile.
Though I was in a hurry
she was a pause to my flurry.

By: Paula Dean Nevison

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

What are you actually doing?

“Passion isn't something that lives way up in the sky, in abstract dreams and hopes. It lives at ground level, in the specific details of what you're actually doing every day.”

Monday, August 25, 2014

In Awe of Clouds

Clouds in the distance
growing up from the ground,
mountainous stalagmites
like white eruption columns
over a plinian volcanic eruption.
Cumulonimbus clouds?
Are we driving into a storm?
Or cumulus congestus clouds?
I didn't study weather.
I guess we'll find out when we get there.

by:  Paula Dean Nevison

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Airplane
way up high,
dark night
firefly.

by:  Paula Dean Nevison

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Little Fish

Little fish swimming around this tank,
do they know they are safe
from predators? Are they afraid?
Is this a race?
Are they concerned
around the next corner that they turn
there will be another fish
waiting to make them a dish?

By:  Paula Dean Nevison

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Robins

Sprint a few steps.
A froze pose.
Stand erect, peck.
Sprint again.
A crook'd look.
A brief stay,
and fly away.

Am I watching them,
or are they watching me?

By:  Paula Dean Nevison

Monday, August 18, 2014

Wake Up Call

Repeating shrill noise
“Is that a bird or a squeak?”
Eyes roll, “It's a tweet.”

By:  Paula Dean Nevison

Friday, August 15, 2014

toddler's attraction
to grandma's trepidation
– the winding staircase

by:  Paula Dean Neviosn

Thursday, August 14, 2014

A Box of Boxes

I have a box of boxes, like those Russian nesting dolls.
Open one and find another.
They get played with
by my two year old granddaughter.

I put some trinkets in the smallest box.
She loves to open them up, and spread all across the floor,
to find the little prizes,
for her, which are in store.

She lines the curios up in a straight line.
I try to organize by color or by size.
She wants them how she put them,
to move them was unwise.

Sometimes she makes a box tower,
but never puts them back together.
Since she has so much fun disassembling,
consolidating boxes is my enjoyed endeavor.

By:  Paula Dean Nevison

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Walking with my granddaughter, 2 years old.
She points out the palm tree I showed her last time we walked.
She remembered what she was told.

I don't think that we forget things when we get old.
I think we stop listening.
We can't remember something we didn't ever know.

By:  Paula Dean Nevison

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Saved Old Toys

My boys'
old toys,
Batman,
Spiderman,
dinosaurs,
Star Wars,
Matchbox cars,
G. I. Joes,
small Legos,
Ninja Turtles,
books, blocks,
one lost sock.
She's two.
They're new.
Fun play
all day.

By:  Paula Dean Nevison

Monday, August 11, 2014

A Box of Old Barbies

My Barbies have been in a box for a very long time.
I didn't share them with my little sister.
My daughters were not allowed to play.
I finally have seen the light,
and so will they today.
I'm opening the box
to let my granddaughter play.
What good are Barbies in a box?
They should be naked on the floor.
To redress them is not a chore.
Little fingers should comb their hair,
and drag them with her everywhere.

By:  Paula Dean Nevison

Saturday, August 9, 2014

My Laundry Routine

Laundry is an all day Saturday thing.
During the school year,
the uniforms must be washed during the week.

I get up early and sort the clothes
into multiple piles according to their colors.
Laundry is an all day Saturday thing.

In the summer, laundry is once a week.
However, there is more laundry to do
during the school year.

Tuesday nights and Thursday nights,
khaki pants and light blue school shirts,
the uniforms must be washed during the week.

By:  Paula Dean Nevison

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Hats Off to My Daughter

My daughter thinks she's fat, but
because she's a few inches taller,
even though she weighs more than me,
she is one size smaller.

One size is not enough for her.
She wants to be at least two.
Probably ten pounds
is all she'll need to loose.

She told me what she wants to eat
for lunch while she's at school.
We also discussed breakfast.
Some protein is my rule.

She's wants to walk each day
when she gets off the bus.
She knows eating less will help,
but exercise is a must.

I don't think she needs to loose
any weight at all.
She is perfect as she is,
size eight at six feet tall.

But as long as she eats healthy foods,
and is drinking lots of water,
if she wants to walk the crazy dog,
then hats off to my daughter.

By:  Paula Dean Nevison

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Seagull Cinephiles

The flock swoops down and around
scanning the crowd and parking lot ground
for bits of discarded popcorn and treats.
After their circling completes, they perch again,
and wait for when the next crowd leaves.

Seagulls line the top edge of our cinema.
A special adaptation of a lower leg claw
enables them to sit and roost on high ledges
without being blown off. They wait
for litterbugs to provide for their fledges.

They are clever. They learn and remember.
They are carnivores, and scavengers,
opportunistic highly adaptable feeders.
They are our garbage men with wings
waiting for edibles somebody flings.

Their practice of kleptoparasitism
works both with whales and human beings.
They thrive by the sea, and in the city.
But are these cinephile city birds,
or just junk food addict converts? 

By:  Paula Dean Nevison

Monday, August 4, 2014

Heron

A heron on the deck
watching me watching it.
Keeping his distance,
yet trying not to be too far away.
Send the kids in for some bread.
I see him nod his head.

By:  Paula Dean Nevison

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Friday, August 1, 2014

School Uniforms

Get up in the morning and you know what to wear.
Just throw it on and go.

Speaking as a mom of four children
(two girls and two boys),

I like school uniforms.

No more
“I don't have anything to wear!” or
“How come you didn't wash my....”
No more
buying specific requested clothes
that when worn the very first time to school
received a disparaging look, or bad review,
and now can't ever be worn again.

Individuality does not depend on clothes.

I like school uniforms.

I only buy two per child,
and wash them twice a week,
Tuesday and Thursday night.
The one worn on Friday
gets washed with the Saturday loads.
It's not complicated, or expensive.
It's saves a lot of grief.

I like school uniforms.