We walk around the central pillar of the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. The SOUND is weird and echoes a bit, as we circle the acrylic tank. It is overwhelming to think about how much water is contained within. Children and adults alike are mesmerized by the GIANT shark, the huge manta ray. Each a TITAN of the sea, magnificent and awesome.

Georg’ann

SHHH, fireflies ABOUT
Ageless delight. TASTE night air
TITAN held captive

Heather

Resolve not to snipe
And to be ABOVE a GRIPE
So I look for a GUIDE,
As to how we might GLIDE:
Smooth sailing is what we all like!

Georg’ann

Cards on Friday Night

So much sleight of hand
yet no one really a CHEAT.
Quick laughter, fast friends.
Letting go POISE, gobbling
cake and 4 flavors of ice cream.
Test DRIVE new relationships,
GLIDE into gear effortlessly.

Heather

Silent – no NOISE – WRIST
Gently turns, quiet SWISH of
Door: sleeping baby

Georg’ann

SPEAK slow, raw honey
no need to STING, little bee
Words like wings. Soft SWISH.

Heather

In REPLY, I would request that you do the BRAVE thing, Senator. Meet with your constituents. ENTER the local DINER and have some face-to-face conversations with the real, everyday people you represent. You will find that we are NICER and smarter than you think we are, and we deserve to be heard

Georg’ann

CREAM colored sofa.
Friend picks new DECOR for home.
Wants NICER things now

Heather

I ADORE the feeling when I get just the RIGHT level of CRISP edge to a roasted potato. Or when I take a dish or a cocktail to the BRINK – almost becoming BRINY, hovering in the tasty realm of salty and sweet.

Georg’ann

We’re still away.
Long, oh so long, the day.
Wordle we did play,
WordleWriting got a delay.

Don’t mean to be whiny.
working hard, free time tiny.
Sky all blue and sunshiny.
dinner elements perfectly BRINY.

Heather

I WAVER – in my head,
It’s a distortion in
A MINOR key, bordering
On cacophony – I try
To find the FLOOR
Beneath me – yet I
Fail to fall
My feet playful and sure
Landing on a strong major chord
My piano TUTOR would be proud

Georg’ann

Inviting them in, each explores her own ocean.
Later guiding them gently back to SHORE.
Salt water droplets flow from eyes,
dissolving sharp edges.
Rectangles become ROUND.
Boxes we’ve inhabited open,
revealing the mandalas within.
No JUROR needed to determine truth.
The TUTOR trusts each
to discover their own. Waits.
Curious to learn what lives within.

Heather

The IMAGE emerges
Like a SWIFT soaring
With a PINCH of luck
A soupçon of wit

Georg’ann

SPARE moment, be still
Listen to rain, receive POINT
Each drop, PINCH of cloud.

Heather

Taking a bite of what she thought was a sweet roll, Mary quickly put her hand to her mouth, anxious to COVER the CLASH between her expectations and reality. Not cinnamon, but the pungent taste of CUMIN coated her tongue, a most startling experience.

Georg’ann

Outside at the Pub

It’s not my favorite place,
I don’t like WHEAT lagers
to DRINK, or BISON to eat.
But under blue skies, in warm sun
the LUPIN lined patio is perfect.
CUMIN roasted chickpeas roll
off my fork. Brown birds peck
at them. We are amused.

Heather

Directions
A sign, with a STORK,
Will POINT the way —
Just after the METRO stop —
Not far from the shop with
An OTTER in the window —
At the OUTER edge of the square —
But if you get to the café with the sheep,
You have gone too far.

Georg’ann

Your voice is SUGAR
HUMOR me with more sweet sound.
OUTER shell dissolves.

Heather

Meditating

In a meadow, with trees at the edge; it is all intensely familiar.
A place I have visited ever SINCE I began doing guided meditations.
It is where I feel safe to explore my self, where I can let my imagination run free.
I bubble up with delight and MIRTH:
I am in charge of this world; I get to PILOT this ship.
I can summon a goddess, visit the dead, play with my younger self.
Far away from the TIDAL shifts out of my control in reality,
I step into an inner expansiveness, knowing I will emerge restored and refreshed.

Georg’ann

The MRI nurse asked
what music I wanted.
“Oh None! I’m PRONE to dancing.
You want me still. I might wiggle”
She gave me a QUICK look.
Classic country played,
while the machine banged.
my toes kept the beat.

Later in the day, my sister
made SILLY jokes, asking
if I felt like a character
from a superhero comic.
Radioactive girl! 🦹‍♀️
Radioactive girl goes to the dentist!
A riveting edition. Makes sure
the hygenist isn’t pregnant.

We’re LIGHT, our humor VITAL
to surf this TIDAL wave.

Heather

We CRAWL along, stopping ABOVE the vent. STEAM from the kitchen below imparts a GAMEY aroma. Hit by a wave of nausea, I struggle to finish the scene. But it does end finally, and I scurry down the ladder to get away from the smell. Once we take our break, I join the other extras. “Did you catch that bit of realism?” “Yes!,” I say, in relief that I wasn’t alone. “I am not sure I would have signed up for this job if I had known the Director was going to add odors to the set.” Everyone chuckled, and I felt emboldened to ask if anyone else was going to the MEDIA event later. I have been flooded with insecurity ever since deciding to go undercover for this job, but so far so good.

Georg’ann

Hiking, woods so MOIST.
MANIC, until the trail calms.
MEDIA friend, thanks!

Heather

ROBIN on the ground
Cardinal in the tree
One with a CREST
One with a red breast
FERRY back and forth
Constantly in motion
Jaunty and PERKY
Sometimes a little JERKY
Delight the eye
And lift the spirit

Georg’ann

AFTER playing in the CREEK
a stop at the animal shelter.
Oh naive mother, you went
to the creek without intending
to get wet, and to the shelter
without anticipating adoption!?
You must have known.

And so you arrive home
with wet, dirty, children
and two adorable kittens
named PERKY and JERKY.
For your next outing
might I suggest a museum?

Heather

Nothing like breaking a bone, say an ANKLE, to lead one to SPOUT first a stream of curses followed by a litany of prayers. From foul-mouthed demon to PIOUS devotee in a matter of minutes!

Georg’ann

Please don’t POINT
your PIOUS finger.
There’s nothing righteous
or redemptive in your smug judgements.

Heather

In just a few days, the Sisters of Charity, staff, and residents would celebrate the feast day of SAINT Solange of Berry. The administrators thought it would be good for the treatment center to have a festival in May, and St. Solange had been proposed. While obscure , her patronage extended to rape victims, shepherds, children, and rain, she seemed a perfect fit for a residential treatment center in the desert. And indeed, the women of the community had been enthusiastic about this idea. Riding the wave of their enthusiasm, Sister Joan had willingly agreed to help. But now that the 10th of May was fast approaching, she was a little worried about getting the final bits done. So here she was in the attic. Sister Joan knew it should not make her TESTY, but having to rummage through DUSTY bins was not her favorite activity. She also worried about random RUSTY nails and spiders. Pulling
back a MUSTY curtain, she gasped. There in front of her, a painting. Beautifully rendered, St. Solange walking, holding her severed head, approaching the church where she would finally die. “How is this possible?,” exclaimed Sister Joan. “It’s a miracle!”

Georg’ann

Daybreak

Early morning walk, hardly a SOUND
Friendship compelled me to ROUSE.
Paused at a field of gossamer dew filled webs
suspended on the HUSKY stems
of last year’s echinacea blooms.
These delicate glistening nests hold
emptiness so perfectly my eyes spill.
Passing the MUSTY shelter house
we hear snoring in concert with birdsong.
Behind soft grey clouds the pink orb rises .
Light increasing even as mist falls.

Heather

Not a CHEAT to stand
In the SHAPE made
By the SHADE and
SHARE a game of boules
No SHAME in taking
A moment to SHAKE
Off the gloom and
To SHAVE off bits of stress
With casual, easy play
The very definition
Of camaraderie

Georg’ann

At first it was an isolated incident
here or there something lost
or forgotten, then more frequently.
Eventually DAILY occurrences
of mind slippage, our phrase
for the indicators of her disappearance.
She’d ask me questions
like “didn’t I want children”
as my daughter sat at the table with us.

STARE into SPACE, vacant.
Then randomly start to narrative tales
about the SAUVE man she met
that time on the boat to Catalina.
Or how her best friend in high school
asked to SHAVE her legs.
There was no way to tell
what wires were crossed,
reminiscence or dreamscape.

My father would say,
“the fact of these facts matters very little.
It’s the possibility of these facts –
that’s what intrigues me.”
We tried to tolerate her disappearance
by embracing the possibility
of meeting a woman we never knew.

Heather

I wanted to SHOUT, so relieved was I to get off the PLANE. This had been a long and tense flight. I really regretted the way I had packed, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something could still go wrong. Calling on the last vestiges of my patience, I made my way to baggage claim. Confident that I would recognize my suitcase from its LABEL and the colorful DECAL I had recently added, I idly thumbed through messages on my phone. Glancing up, it took me a moment to realize that someone else was grabbing my bag. Springing into action, I started after them. To my surprise, they started to run. What?? I picked up speed and tried to imagine what the heck was going on. My mind (and my body!) was racing, this made no sense. Yelling and running – sheesh why don’t people get out of the way??? There was no way anyone else knew what was in that bag. Surely this was an innocent mistake, but I am so screwed if it is intentional and they know about the artifact.

Georg’ann

Today is one for PAUSE.
Noticing how the gold and brown tones
of the wood grains in the coffee table
are reflected in my pant fabric
and the fur of the cat sleeping
on my legs, resting on the table.
We are still life.

The scent of warm BREAD and peonies
move in with my breath.
Siberian Iris line the path.
These ephemeral, delicate beauties
so sturdy in their brief display
are the flower I might like to be.

Out of the corner of my eye
I see the marathon MEDAL
you won, when your energies
could be exerted, extended
endured over long hauls.
Not constricted within confines
of a bodily rebellion, bursting out
in displays less rewarding.

Tomorrow I take flight
mostly know where I’m headed.
Yet fear hitting clear glass
on a window I can’t see.
Wish for a reflective DECAL,
the kind that protect birds,
to keep me intact.

Heather

We have done this many times, you and I. And here we are again: setting the things out, to make it easy to SHARE at the TABLE. As we move through the familiar routine, we chat about the long-gone days of having to prepare the space for children who play during a meal, treating a straw or carrot like a LANCE to jab at anything and everything. And then how those growing and grown children made us get more chairs, put the leaf in the table, make room for all the plus-ones. And then for their children. You have made cottage cheese pancakes; I have brought fruit and MAPLE syrup. Our families will gather shortly, bringing their own contributions in covered dishes, boxes, and voices. Oh how I VALUE this moment, these relationships, and above all, you.

Georg’ann

Long DRIVE to the state park
little girls in the back
talk of what’s in VOGUE.
On the trail they squeal
with delight at every dog,
and there were many!
River wading, horse riding.
Lunch at the inn, 2 for 1
still not a good VALUE,
they ate two bites and a sprite.
Exhausted from the day,
the ride home was silent
as each laid her head
against her door, quickly asleep.

Heather

Will you be my SUGAR?
Can I call you honey?
We can write a little story
TITLE it whatever we want
Take my hand
Stroke my cheek
You will hear me go CHEEP
Let’s intertwine,
Get all BENDY
On the EBONY bed

Georg’ann

SOLID as the wood,
you, PRONE on soft linen sheets
in EBONY bed.

Heather

I PASTE an image in the center – pleased with flights of SHORE birds that SLIDE under sunsets. Random pulling of more images, I add trees, overlay mushrooms. These fragments please my eye and spark my imagination. Unexpectedly, a sharp edge of paper – oh that silent SLICE across my finger! I watch as bright red drops fall, like indelible ink. In my hasty attempt to clear it away, I create a wet smear and wrinkled images. I sit and stare, overwhelmed by the sense that a part of me – my very DNA – is now locked forever in this collage.

Georg’ann

PLAIN bagel, please.
SLIDE on some cream cheese
add a tomato SLICE and sprouts.
Yes, very nice. Thank you.

Heather

The Blurb

The STORY of a girl named Candy and her love of a calf named BERRY. We follow their adventures on the Wisconsin DAIRY farm where they live, as recorded in Candy’s DIARY. Funny, heartfelt, a tale you will want to read again and again.

Georg’ann

Last night I opened a box
more like falling through a portal.
Inside a well worn babydoll
hair shorn to stumbled dots.
On her side a large calico heart
shaped PATCH, a tug of war injury.
Immediately transported to 1974
and the fight in the back seat
of my uncle’s wood paneled
Buick Estate Wagon
as my cousin attempted
to take possession of my baby.
Rip. Oh the fury and tears.

Next to the doll was a wrapper
from a FLAME red 100 GRAND candy bar.
I think it was a souvenir
from seeing Sinbad and the Seven Seas
at the Princess Theater.
So many sweet trinkets and bits of detritus,
whose symbolic meanings were long gone.

Under the rubble, a pink satin DIARY
with a tiny silver key attached by a very thin cord.
Amusing to think of lock and key
kept together all these years.
For a little girl the fun was in the action
of turning the key to guard or reveal
the secrets contained within.

It would be many years ahead
that significant practices
of protection were necessary
for my inner realm.

Heather

James was not labeled “The Shark” because of his gray suit. He was one of the sharpest strategists in the political world. In this moment, instinctively AWARE of the need to WRING every last dime from the CROWD, James signaled to the team. They snapped into formation and began to PROWL, sniffing out the most likely to give and the most likely to get worked up and draw others in.

Georg’ann

Small, eager hands RAISE.
All want to join GROUP project.
Fox on PROWL, save chicks.

Heather

Assemble, PLACE, and begin
Daily I CHART the path for dinner
Discipline and practice of my CRAFT
Kitchen witch that I am

Georg’ann

Cat traipses through paint
Paw prints leave STAIN, CHART her course
CRAFT time consequence

Heather

There is no way to take COVER, to hide. These political events are knocking at my very door – my neighborhood taunted by helicopters flying overhead, as students and faculty fight to demand justice. I think about how for some this is a DEBUT into the political arena, the beginnings of figuring out how to have a public life, how to lead, and how to build a better world. I think about the contrast between my safe community, even with the incursions of heavy handed police, no bombs will fall, no famine will threaten, no snipers will actually fire. I know that in the morning, I will make pancakes, set out MAPLE syrup, read my EMAIL, and look to see a bit of hope from my position of safety. I am eager to see the GLEAM of new leadership, a way forward in very dark times. I reflect on my safety and stability – how it is not a privilege, but what we all deserve. I pledge to keep fighting for that to become a reality.

Georg’ann

We threw a PARTY the night before
my brother went to prison.
In the carrot cake a long file.
On top a decorative image of him
behind red Twizzler cell bars,
head pasted onto an orange jumpsuit
with a ball and CHAIN around his ankle.
Our family humor a bit ASKEW.
I was blinded by the sunset
GLEAM on the amber beer bottles
his long divorced parents
raised in a toast to their boyman.

Heather

Sitting in a bar at 11 am felt just on the cusp of wrong. What the heck is one to order? She supposed it felt too late to have a breakfast item. A good thing, since a lone sad DONUT seemed to be the only option in the way of a late morning sweet. And she rather suspected it would sit like a STONE in her belly. Did she want a fancy beer? Surely they had them. Maybe one of those NITRO milk stouts. Wasn’t there advertising once upon a time – Guinness is good for you? Lost in thought, she hadn’t noticed that others had come in. A hand slammed down on the table and a man slid into the booth across from her. Another shoved his way next to her, sitting uncomfortably close. With no preamble, the first guy leaned in, snarling. “What the hell do you think you are doing?” Pleased with herself for not jumping, Lacy looked evenly at the man known only to her by description and well, reputation. Her brothers had warned her this could happen. So she was prepared. “Not a very nice INTRO, Mr, um – what do I call you? are you going by Smith these days?”

Georg’ann

Juvenile penguins with a DRIVE
Jump RIGHT off a 50 foot ice cliff
plunging for their first sea swim.
Hard not to anthropomorphize.

On other cliffs, roads wind
precariously, no place to drive
an ARTIC, yet still they go
many tires gripping pavement.

Wordle play gave me an INTRO.
Letting my mind wander
in associations facts don’t support.

Penguins, ice, water,
Arctic cold
No penguins there
Artic is not arctic.
Artic u la tion

Heather

A TREND I would like to see:
OVERT optimism with a splash of joy,
Steeped in abundance,
Served on a bed of roses

Georg’ann

Dancing slowly, practicing POISE
as we suspend motion,
balancing on one foot or toes.
Arms reach and cascade like silk ribbons.
Movement from the interior.

DETOX from news, lists, worries and OTHER disturbances.
Spring is OVERT now,
telltale robin’s eggshells
cracked half on the sidewalk. Doves nesting in the eaves. Fresh mown and shaggy
not yet mown lawns,
abundant bugs and blossoms.

Lush and loud.
You have my attention,
and my gratitude.

Heather

The CHARM was BRIEF
How sad the day
When I discovered
My LOVER was a ROVER

Georg’ann

Sand, symbol, self

Each tray of sand, BLANK
canvases, soon filled.
Everyone comes with a STORY.
Lifting the COVER, a peak inside.

Hands HOVER, hesitant to place.
As if they know what’s being told
in bits of plastic, glass, metal, ceramic,
wood, paper, cloth, rock, feather or fire.

Yes, these fingers understand
that the mini moon ROVER
from the Toobies toy space kit
tells a tale of a loneliness

so vast gravity no longer holds.
In this one piece, suffocation
and dissociation hide in plain view.
The narration is child’s play.

Heather

DANCE madly
SPOUT artistically
Be JOLLY
It’s the only way to age

Georg’ann

Thank you for the NUDGE. It hadn’t occurred to me that I’d enjoy a team SPORT. Wouldn’t have seen myself fitting in, especially given my general clumsiness and lack of competitiveness. The COACH fosters a certain amount of FOLLY even while honing our skills. We sweat and pant, certainly stretching my physical ability, yet still everyone maintains a JOLLY air.

Heather

I turn the SHELL and position it just so. I take out my drawing supplies, also positioning them just so. I like to think that I have a bit of a FLAIR for the visual arts, and even if not, at least I get a lot from it. I study the shape of this simple, yet beautiful object. Reflecting on the principles of how to render it with pencil, I appreciate the LOGIC of the process. I hold still – and look, I mean really look at it, almost in a state of LUCID dreaming while still very awake. Joy, meditation, creativity all at once – and I begin.

Georg’ann

LEAVE behind sorrows
For today LIMIT regret
Be LUCID and lush.

Heather

I move into your ORBIT
Captivated by your WEIRD moves
Perhaps they should RAISE
A red flag or two, but
Nope, I am ready for a strange ride

Georg’ann

SPICE bottles empty
ARISE, go to store. Refill.
Chef wants to RAISE bar

Heather