Random
Polka Dots and Moon Beams
By: Melissa de Haan Cummings - Oct 03, 2015
Random
Raindrops
polka dot
the windscreen
A splash of sun
down Bennett Street
hits flowers
in the evening
a second storey
on Langsford
Cheerful shadow of tree trunk
across bright green and yellow leaves
happy then cloud cover whipping wind
looks but doesn't feel storm ravaged
Handlebars left
handlebars right
left right
a boy picks up speed
Three straight stems
holding purple blossoms
in the seam where sand
meets macadam
Later sun spots and slants
in the westering light
sky blue and white
trees tall and straight
above short undergrowth
including stems which end
abruptly in wide blonde
ferny spreads
like the surface of water
I went into the woods
by her house
imagining her suffering
from constant pain
in her back curtailing action
hard on her husband
I met friends who saidko
she died last month
I left the woods
by her house
forever to think of her dead
Before I reached home
Andy told me
Ben Hedblom died
last week
Straitsmouth Light sounds
over the hills past Granite Pier
recollecting morning fog
still in cloud formation
beyond sailing boats
on Sandy Bay
Rising in a line from
the Isles of Shoals
until cut off by Folly Point
lies afternoon fog
Walking down the white
crushed granite road
in flip flops
straw sun hat
and navy blue
terry cloth bath robe
from pit to home
must be that close
Roger wants me to hug him
I hugged him
That's a better hug
You keep hugging the dog
Goldenrod has given up
its flowering
holds open hands
How is it down the cove?
Crowded
People in the water
on the rocks
That's why I don't go
down there weekends
I like to be alone
Washes tailgate of truck
Gotta get this cement off
Bait too
Smoke from Newbury
blowing over Plum Island
becoming purple
as sun sets
Peach behind black trees
luminous turquoise beneath
Why is it so empty?
Patriots game
It started early
It's over
I was gonna watch
at seven
Began at one
Did they win?
Yah but it was close
Good game
Traveling purple
morning glories
one to the top
of the hockey goal
bar down
one beneath
the swings
where dogs lie
a third in the woodpile
all in morning sun
Little hill
sprinkled with wild aster
granite outcroppings
and skinny grass
Would you like a ride?
Sure
These are eggs
I was gonna go
up Emerald through
the woods to Leverett
Through this property?
Just the gate
Take a hard right
She starts right up
first turn
But she don't want
to go nowhere
Gotta work on her
Gets out with eggs
I'm not giving you the eggs!
Them are my eggs!
I left blood on a thorn
on Woodbury Hill
Hedges of rose hips
with milk weed
and thistle
Sun around seed heads
fuzzy and tan
by the rocky shore
ocean blazing
with light
Vine around hydrant
reaching all over
a fence
opposite to
a lemon sky
Sun brings warmth
twice on Ships Bell Road
slants to the tops
of grassy seed heads
the palms of goldenrod
curls around the corner
of a cottage
through one window
and its opposite
Then it sinks behind
the eastern wall
whose USA and
Don't Tread On Me
flags droop and lift
While Cheryl bakes
in a car
My feet are cold
I have sandals on
I'm not ready to give them up
It 's almost October
I know
And it's fifty nine degrees
Sun returns through the gap
lighting calm water
rippling water beyond
Hides behind trees
as the road rises
to the cemetery
where sun shines lemon
goes orange near the Essex hills
red through more trees
to peach after setting
Four boats aground
at their moorings
following a full moon
with lunar eclipse
Sun through gray stuff
silvering the bay
from the Essex River
to Plum Cove Ledge
The yard may lie
in shadow
but from thirty
to eighty feet up
opposite to sun set
orange brown and
orange green
Melissa de Haan Cummings
September 2015