My Poems in The Heron’s Nest

The following are all of my poems published in The Heron’s Nest, from 1999 to today (most recent provided first). I’m grateful to a long line of editors for selecting these poems, many of which I count among my very best.



autumn drizzle—

a stack

of old business cards

                XXVI:1, March 2024



missing you—

slowly the ceiling fan

comes to a stop

                XXV:4, December 2023



longing . . .

the present tense

of fireworks

                XXV:3, September 2023



walking drunk

off the merry-go-round

my summer-sunned daughter


distant taiko—

the cherry blossoms

trembling

                XXV:2, June 2023     +     +



winter solstice . . .

I learn the word

palliative

                XXV:1, March 2023



year of the armadillo—

my daughter’s zodiac

in crayon

                XXIV:1, March 2022



reaching to the back

of the empty mailbox

summer sunset

                XXIII:4, December 2021



carpet patterns his retirement speech

                XXIII:3, September 2021



snake

       out of its skin

       out of itself

                XXIII:1, March 2021



toboggan run—

I discover

my coccyx

                XXII:4, December 2020



after the popsicle     the popsicle stick

                XXII:3, September 2020



silent night—

the bell choir bells

at rest in velvet

                XXI:3, September 2019



spring lightning—

a flower’s shadow

against the fortress wall

                XIX:3, September 2017



muddy trail—

every now and then

a peanut shell

                XVIII:4, December 2016



spring walk—

the train trestle

and its many shadows

                XVIII:3, September 2016



unsold pumpkins—

straw from the store display

trails out the door

                XVIII:3, September 2016



foreclosure—

the skull of something

in the crawlspace

                XVIII:2, June 2016



ferry gift shop—

all the tourist mugs

gently clinking

                XVII:1, March 2015



from the ocean

                                to her moat

a bucket mostly spilled

                XVII:1, March 2015



tonight’s stars—

how long will it take

for my light to reach them?

                XV:2, June 2013



night crossing—

                     salt spray rises

up through the anchor hole

                XII:4, December, 2010



loons scattering . . .

a floatplane touches down

into summer

                XII:4, December, 2010



a still, starry night—

      train tracks

            wet with dew

                X:4, December, 2008



“On the Other Side, In Memory of Bob Major”

                X:3, September, 2008 (memorial haibun)



the kite’s tail

ripped from knotty branches—

mockingbird song

                IX:3, September, 2007



“Kay F. Anderson, Life-Dancer”

                IX:2, June, 2007 (memorial haibun)



ripples in the tidepool—

a quieter ocean

in my child’s shell

                IX:2, June, 2007



drifting cherry petals . . .

a window goes up

in the passing limousine

                IX:1, March, 2007



blue September sky—

the wordless things

we want to know

                VIII:4, December, 2006 (memorial poem for Francine Porad)



beached kelp—

we examine each other’s

life lines

                VIII:1, March, 2006



fog . . .

just the tree

at the bus stop

                VII:4, December, 2005 (memorial poem for Jerry Kilbride)



Remembrance Day—

my insignificant wince

at the misdirected poppy pin

                VII:4, December, 2005



Christmas Eve—

bits of a price sticker

stuck to my finger

                VII:3, September, 2005



her last breath . . .

the strings vibrating

on her dusty harp

                VII:1, March, 2005 (memorial poem for Elizabeth Searle Lamb)



crackling beach fire—

we hum in place of words

we can’t recall

                VI:11, December, 2004 (Editor’s Choice poem)



dwindling fire—

our conversation shifts

to death

                VI:9, October, 2004



leaves turning—

the toboggan hanging

in the dark garage

                VI:8, September, 2004



tax audit—

dents in damp grass

from the mower’s wheels

                VI:6, July, 2004



apples picked

and the casket chosen—

lingering sunset

                VI:5, June, 2004



tripod holes

in the creekside mud—

Yosemite dawn

                VI:4, May, 2004



day labourers

gathered at the Goodwill—

the dripping awning

                VI:3, April, 2004



starry starry night—

unfinished art school paintings

in the dumpster

                VI:2, March, 2004



frosted windows—

my weight

still on the gym scale

                VI:1, January, 2004



bookmobile day—

huckleberries bloom

along the white picket fence

                V:12, December, 2003



my neighbor’s bicycle

locked to the fence—

drifting plum petals

                V:11, November, 2003



quiet afternoon—

leaves on her desk

arranged by colour

                V:10, October, 2003



twilight lingers . . .

from the wrecking yard

flash of a blowtorch

                IV:12, December, 2002 (reprinted in this issue, in print and online)

                IV:10, October 2002 (in the online version but accidentally omitted from the print edition)



a skipping stone

strikes the moored sailboat . . .

autumn drizzle

                IV:11, November, 2002



summer afternoon—

the soda’s sound

changes as I drink

                IV:7, July, 2002



  cool summer night—

          a full moon

frames the bird feeder

                IV:6, June, 2002



a rest by the stream—

burrs on the tongue

of my tennis shoe

                IV:5, May, 2002



track meet—

a few grains of sand

in the drinking fountain

                IV:3, March, 2002



dew on the morning paper—

grass blades

                         unbending

                IV:2, February, 2002



dew drop

on a dusty grass blade . . .

the ant backs up

                II:10, October, 2000



noon sun

picnic cheese

sweating

                II:7, July, 2000



distant traffic hum—

the stone buddha’s

moss-filled crevice

                II:6, June, 2000



summer clouds—

a child scatters popcorn

on the fish pond

                II:6, June, 2000



lazy day—

our wrist watches

on the ice chest

                II:5, May, 2000



a leaf falls

from the greenhouse ficus

clap of thunder

                I:4, December, 1999