Enraptured by Raptors

 

Turkey Vulture

Bald Eagle

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

Cooper's Hawks

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Merlin

Kestrel

All these birds were photographed within or passing over college campuses a few minutes walk from my home. I am amazed every day by the variety of birds in this small green space – one of very few that has so far escaped development.

 

 

Thrush

 

A thrush steps through the fallen leaves

With gracefulness and care,

Then stops to cast a dreamy glance

And shyly lingers there.

Her breast's adorned with misty spots

That fade from taupe to buff –

She flies up to an aspen's branch

To call her "chuff", "chuff", "chuff"...

November 2020

(from the book Longing For The Light by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter

View From A Window

 

Battered by rain and wind,

the window pane shudders

from the violent assault.

Spattered glass displays

trees that sway and buck

in defiance of the gale,

Until a swift alchemy

turns the leaden skies

into streams of gold.

2020

(from the book Longing For The Light by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter

Starlight

I stumble through the night

Wishing there were starlight.

The path is long and dark

Lacking any landmark.

Then as the end comes near

Strong winds arrive to clear

The sky of all that bars

The grandeur of the stars.

They shine on me below,

Offering their guidance,

And my starlight shadow

Walks with me in silence.

2021

(from the book Longing For The Light by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter

If You Can't Find Me In My Bed

If you can't find me in my bed,

come out and look for me under the moon.

Listen to the notes of the robin's song in the pre-dawn night.

I'll be in the shadows with the cats and skunks and raccoons.

I'll be crouching between wall and wheel filling up their bowl.

And I'll be filling my lungs with the scent of trees and grass and earth.

And I will listen to the notes of the robin's song in the pre-dawn night.

June 2018

(from the book Discoveries In The Dark by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter

Daffodils and Dandelions

 

The daffodil – tended and tame

fashioned by man to an ideal –

In gardens wide it draws acclaim

and yet for me there's no appeal.

The dandelion – scorned as weed,

yet rivalling the sun's bright glow,

thrives on its own and has no need,

for metal spade, nor trowel, no hoe –

And spreading far by windblown seed

it's wild and free to simply grow.

For me that's all I need to know.

2020

(from the book Discoveries In The Dark by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter

Golden-crowned Kinglet

 

Such tiny head to hold a crown –

how was your coronation?

I hope you deigned to settle down

during the grand occasion.

Your fleeting visits come in spring –

and loyal subjects greet you.

In fall you're once again passing

although we wish to keep you.

And so, my little feathered king,

long may your reign continue.

Noblesse oblige is what you bring –

this virtue lies within you.

2021

(from the book Longing For The Light by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter