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How to Get through a Day When All the Talk is of War
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First you notice the mellow afternoon,
with the oak glowing bronze
by your front door and one last bee,
drunk on October and fallen apples,
weaving down your window screen.

Then you might try
frying an onion and lots
of garlic in some olive oil.
While that fragrance is luring
all manner of creatures to your door,
you could puree two cans
of Caribbean-style black beans
with one can of chicken broth,
then mix it all together, along
with more broth if needed
to heat through.  Add a dollop
of sour cream in each bowl and

serve with red wine, some olives,
a green salad with the hint of oil and vinegar,
and a fresh, crusty French baguette
that you must tear apart in the best spirit
of breaking bread — with an old lover,
or a friend who knew you when.

Alone is good, too, with Bach 
and a book of poems.
Then indulge, enjoy, surrender
to this moment that is all there is,
to the bee, the oak, the falling night,
to this prelude of smoky light, 
golden against evening shadows.





Chocolate Lavender Sea Salt Caramel Apple


It waits, taunting me,   
provocative purple ribbon teasing,      
crinkly cellophane revealing a darkness
like velvet adorned with snowflakes.

    unwrap me, it whispers
    savor my succulence…

My eyes tear up, mouth watering 
with happiness that such a gift 
exists in this sometimes
hard and tasteless world.

    undreamed of delights 
    await you it mumurs…

Temptation wins — I succumb 
and there's nothing more to say
except, my dear Eve, at last
I understand your torment…  

In the end it gets us every time — love,
that velvety darkness we surrender to
that bittersweet salty tied-up-in-a-ribbon 
fragrant irresistible sticky love.