Hummingbird mama —
abandons her nonviable eggs
but keeps checking back
a few more times, just to be sure.
Arms fall off a saguaro,
break open on the ground
like fragile eggshells —
after years of desert still-life
a few seconds of death-motion.
But the night breeze is so beautiful
those breezes are — so beautiful,
it’s hard not to get swept away.
—Terri Guillemets
dried crackling leaves —
though dead —
are never quite still
—Terri Guillemets
At a certain point, some of us just sit down and watch the rest of our lives
Don’t let it happen to you!
—Terri Guillemets
It’s peeking ’round the corner,
playing hide and seek —
I see its icy fingers,
a frost’d rosy cheek.
Autumn’s air is chilling
Warmth no longer lingers
The wild things are stilling
Colors mute and leave.
—Terri Guillemets