Maria Mitchell, pioneering astronomer

she swept the heavens
not the kitchen floor
sharp-eyed Miss Mitchell

School day memories

found in an old notebook
this notation:
--  "wide margins can't hide a skimpy paper."

in memoriam - USS Indianapolis

limitless ocean
around them
sharks, too

Fishing Pier

crowded pier
each angler shadowed
by impatient gulls

World Youth Day

on Rio's beaches
many wear tangas
others hold rosaries

Priorities

derailment or not
she still demands
her bottle

train derailment, 24 July 2013, Galiza, Spain

Cries of the injured
remain
as survivors ask 'why?"

Neil Armstrong on the Moon

his one step
was a great leap
forward

Sea of Tranquility, 20 July 1969

Powdery white sand

no one else around

tranquility

8 Mile Road, Detroit

North of 8 Mile
Green lawns and soccer moms
South of 8 Mile...

Incense

curls of plane shavings
from a woodworker's craft
incense offering

curls of plane shavings
offered up
as incense

 

17 of July 1918, the Romanovs

from the restless sleep
of a summer's night
they drift off to eternity

The Slaughter of the Innocents

Rachel's children
their unheard cries
13 de marzo

Gettysburg -- the fourth day

dawn at Gettysburg
after the last battle
their blanched faces

Gettysburg -- third day

drawn sabers glinting
in the hot summer sun
ready for battle

Cemetary Ridge -- Gettysburg, second day

some wore gray, some blue
on that fateful Ridge
too many wore red