Naming the Sun (december version)

Naming the Sun

I wish I had a thousand
words for sunshine
in December

Flakes of flickering eyelids
Quartz specks sparkling in the gravel
Simmering sweat under long sleeves
_____Damn, that dried mud really hides the rust on my pickup

The dogs have buried some bones in the garden
and almost desperately scatter the topsoil

An empty birdhouse sags from the maple tree
where it’s been half-heartedly nailed

I cut and split a long-dead locust
and stacked it against the house,
a mountain
beneath a faded blue tarp

Last night’s frost dripping like perspiration
Air bubbles trapped in soft ice
Puddles shrinking
Deck boards slick with slimy black moss
A solitary blackbird perched on the gate
sunning herself

A Love Song for the Fall

Fledgling words
they darkly rise and fall

An autumn wind
like short quick breaths
upon a glowing ember
fuels the soul
and then recedes

Lacking constancy
a wayward heart sings songs
that can't be heard
except in silence

Whew...

I just ?correctly? cited 32 sources that I plan to use for my master's thesis in rhetoric...a tedious rhetorical act in itself...glad to have that out of the way...