Nature

Love Letters to a Dying World

For Pope Francis

For years, he had been sending love letters
to his sisters and brothers on this “suffering
planet” warning about the coming disaster,
greenwashed by climate deniers, “bad … Read more

Tremors

After my Thursday night routine of a six-pack,
I’d steadied my nerves for a morning with pencil
pushers in my office, where the cleaning crew
had taken odds, as if … Read more

Arboricide Song

A man with an axe called to his accomplices
from beneath the flow of night’s dark tap;
a bird screamed, a lyrebird. It flew into a tree,
up to where … Read more

Saunasphere

It’s so hot, your brain sounds the alarm—
orders your body to pump water
from interior reserves,
hydrants in the blood, muscles, kidneys,
and brain itself—through dilated vessels
to the … Read more

The Old Banyan Tree

Scorched, but still standing
the media said of the massive tree
in the heart of Lahaina after fires
blazed through Maui so swiftly, the sea
offered the best chance of … Read more

Precious Gemstones

  • by

Precious stones held a symphony
In the darkness of the sky.
Music played all around.
Gemstones cut by God above,
Impressive to the naked eye.
The stars glittered for all. … Read more

Aloha I Ka Hamau

Ka’u mau keiki
Holo! Holo!
Holo i ke kai!
Aia ma luna ou ka hanu o ka deragona,
Ua hoʻolapalapa kona huhū i kou mau ʻāina kapu.
Holo! Holo!
Holo … Read more

Scordatura

Image by David Chorlton

Another Sunday best spent
indoors with a view
of the clouds building up and putting on
a monsoon face
only to empty their pockets
and dissolve. … Read more

Mick Jagger’s Birthday

Image of the sunrise on my street by David Chorlton

A long first look
glides down the street toward Four Peaks
and the awakening sky. It’s a friendly
view; sun … Read more

Seeing Myself as a Mayan Mother

Thousands of years ago,
Mayans built superhighways
connecting impressive cities
later abandoned, now buried
beneath miles of jungle.

Like the dinosaur demise,
scientists can only speculate
what happened to the … Read more

Betelgeuse Is Dying

Betelgeuse, we are told, is dying –
on the verge of a supernova
dimmer, now brighter, shape-shifting
toward its own inevitable end.
Will it become another “guest” star
like those … Read more

Careless Consequences

The seas are alive,
Swimming with life.
Dolphins leaping with grace and precision.
A seahorse clinging to the neon green seaweed,
Manta rays roaming freely and undeterred.
Great whales breaching … Read more

Drought-Break

For months, nothing but rain in California.
Rain in California, as unexpected
as a savant’s first symphony, as kindness
from a forgotten foe.
The oaks lean in, slump tons
of … Read more