Upgrade Hell

Technology,

 a labyrinth of choices,

ostensibly to help you,

actually do confuse you.

Hidden costs our money, 

a bigger cost our time.

 We spend time to maneuver,

With less time to wonder.

The Waiting Room

Alone in the doctor's office.

Muffled voices intrude in the hall.

Loudly the clock ticks;

 the red second hand jumps from one to two.

A nurse enters, takes my blood pressure,

lists symptoms, and leaves the room.

The clock ticks on...

Counting breaths lasts but a minute.

The clock ticks on...

Thoughts flit by.

The clock ticks on...

My iPhone has no messages.

The clock ticks on...

I remember  the interminable waiting,

 in the emergency room with a sick husband.

The diagnosis could have been different.

The clock ticks on...

Finally, the doctor removes the tissue for the biopsy

The clock ticks on...

He comes back in the room.

"Negative, " he says.

With a barely noticeable sigh,

I leave the room and close the door.

I must remember to stop at the store next door.

Swings Soothe the Soul

When I was a little girl, we spent some of our summers

 with my Grandma  Mammy in rural Kentucky.

Every farmhouse had a front porch with a swing.

I came from the city.

Our porch was too small for a swing.

On hot summer days, my sister and I

 would swing on Mammy's front porch,

Back and forth, back and forth.

We'd listen to calls

of  summoning  Bob White,

of  plaintive  Mourning Doves,

and  to the night's cricket chorus  song.

Feel the days heat ending.

The  glittering stars holding us close.

The night settling in.

Back and forth, back and forth.

Now I too have a front porch and  swing.

I listen to the Wood Pewee's incessant calling,

the Acorn Woodpecker's grating,

 the Rufus Towhee's questioning,

the bumble bees buzzing,  

and the chimes' fine music

 sighing in the wind.

Back and forth, back and forth,

Back and forth.