Backyard
A soft gentle cool breeze whispers around quiet awakening green
The sound of so many birds singing abounds
Tall trees aged and growing whined around still overcast skies
The sun rising over the front side of the house
The backside shaded, for now, it is morning
An edge of light aligns with the back fence 23 paces from where I sit
The shade creeps toward me
Hal’s Bleeding Hearts red and white blossom to my right
A fire pit of his brick collection is buried a bit offset to the left
Tree stumps surround the fire pit each sawed off top colored different
A pair of hammock-like swings sway from high branches
Clover in bundles dapple the Orlando sandy surface
A large bird of pray rides in circles just below almost clouds
Spanish moss-like upside-down hair pieces dangle from sinewy branches
The distant sound of a jet interrupts the nearby sky
A dog frustrated barks at a closed door, but not for long
Fuchsia dots in the distance, maybe bougainvillea
The sun continues to slide towards the shade receding
Mostly green I see including my green shoes
Upon a bright orange round table, coffee cup sits
A small white metal vase holds fresh-cut bleeding hearts
A trail of oak leaves makes a path across the tabletop
Bug spray sits there too, awaiting hungry mosquitoes
Linda’s Chinese lanterns faded swirl from the hibiscus
Beneath the hibiscus sits a small town - Fairy Town to be exact
The hibiscus old and dying its flowers small and few between blooming
Can’t forget the lizards they are everywhere
There is a wooden slatted fence to the left of me
Each post dug by hand by Linda and I
The remainder of the yard is squared off by chainlink
Vines and Ferns weave in and out of the diamond pattern
Spiraling, the lightning struck partially fallen tree grows a giant leafy vine
The leaf's heart-shaped and variegated in color
Butter yellow and shimmering green
Sized from dinner plates to giant platters
The largest of the leaves have tears edge to stem like feathers pulled apart
Where the massive tree limb fell from the giant heart leaves now camouflage the wound
A scarf of hearts around a headless set of shoulders
Here comes the ice cream truck
fa la la la la - la - la - la - la along with a chimed version of Christ The Savior Is Born
Its “Florida” is all that I can say
Most days I see butterflies but not today
Amongst all the glowing green a singular purple flower blooms
Mexican Petunia, it’s called
I only know this because its name sign is buried in the ground beside it
The edge of light that was at the fence line is now my height away from me 5’9”
The sun moves so fast when you are writing about it
The shifty clouds make the edge of shade fade in and out
The clouds drift and the edge of shade sharpens and creeps towards me
A fine line drawn in the ground cover
Can’t really call it a lawn because there are so many kinds of green stuff growing
Here in the backyard
The full Sun will find me soon
My coffee has grown tepid
Morning is over
“All is calm all is bright (damn, Ice Cream Truck)”
Circling the sun
Another year begins.