my daughter’s two cats
copy her two art cats
all four posed and looking out her window
perhaps watching for two birds
who might be copying two art birds.
—
“as long as you’re being a copycat, you will never be the best copycat.”
-eric thomas
helped my daughter
to pull a dollhouse kit down from the store shelf above
quite surprised to find
how heavy it actually was
just before it crowned me
more surprised than anything
all was well
but as we picked it up
with an alarmed store employee
i happened to notice
a little sticker on the underside that said
‘heavy’
too little, too late. too heavy.
—
“heavy is the head that wears the crown”
― wiiliam shakespeare
on the via rail trip home
i was in the lucky seat
prepared to wield the mighty hammer
to save us all
on an as-needed basis
just like thor.
if he was a happy, sleepy woman
with a scratchy throat
wrapped up in a cozy scarf
sipping bailey’s and coffee
on a meandering canadian train.
—
‘courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.’
-carl von clausewitz
a stop by a pub with a cozy fireplace
for a leisurely quiet lunch
and then i saw this –
a menu note at the bottom
‘bottomless fountain pop and vanilla ice cream’ for children
things could quickly go in a different direction.

“i accept that there may be things far grander
and more incomprehensible than we can possibly imagine.’
-richard dawkins
—
london, ontario, canada
i came face to face with this colorful display
and was struck with a sudden terror
for i knew
this was
a sure sign that
the fruitcakes were on their way.
—
“a sharp bolt of hunger hit luther hard. his knees almost buckled, his poker face almost grimaced. for two weeks now his sense of smell had been much keener, no doubt a side effect of a strict diet. maybe he got a whiff of mabel’s finest, he wasn’t sure, but a craving came over him. suddenly, he had to have something to eat. suddenly, he wanted to snatch the bag from kendall, rip open a package, and start gnawing on a fruitcake.”
― John Grisham
the notes i scribbled after each walk in the parks
sometimes in a code that even i could not decipher

the artifacts i gathered as i walked the parks
most dried out to the point where i could not recognize them
—
i threw all of the the notes and artifacts into a big shoe box
in one heaping pile
things fell out and fell in
i found a purple feather and holiday glitter in the mix
clearly a very complex and organized system.
—
“if you wish to forget anything on the spot,
make a note that this thing is to be remembered.”
-edgar allan poe
“hutchins office – night deposits”
—
“i find if you are in an office, the crisis finds you.
if you’re not in the office, the crisis finds somebody else. “
-jeremy corbyn
—
*city of ann arbor tree nursery, ann arbor, mi, usa
provides and nurtures saplings for city parks and streets
along with mulch, logs, and all things to do with trees.
—
*when i visited the parks’ nursery, there was no one there, and i loved happening upon this unusual ‘office’ setting. it looks like it could have been a staff meeting day, as there were 2 chairs sitting together. as i continue my walk through the parks, i now have 9 left to go, and i’m quite sure that i will be finished by my goal of halloween.
i recently made halloween cards
for all of my grandies and nieces
and sent them out early
to make sure they arrived in time
imagine my surprise
when i opened my mailbox
and found a letter
that i had sent out
a day earlier
only to have the post office
deliver it back to me
instead of sending it on ahead
somehow they had managed
to process it on the back of the envelope
and decided that my return address sticker
was where it should be delivered
i often wonder about their logic
and am pleasantly surprised
when things actually get
to where i had intended them to go
i will try again tomorrow
and tell them that it should go
to where the mailing address is
on the front of the letter.
“you know you’re a fool when what you’re doing
makes even the post office seem efficient.”
-joshua cohen