honeycrisp

Poor, poor honeycrisp—
your tender skin's too soft
for the sticker's harsh adhesives.
It bruises and breaks
under my careful fingernails
as I pick around the sticker's
stubborn edges, making me
wince involuntarily. Peeling, rolling,
finally removing the encroaching
label, I uncover the smooth, shiny,
uninterrupted surface underneath
into which I can gladly sink my teeth.

compulsory reading

irresistible in its simplicity,
those mere black dots hold
all the compelling force
of a gun held to your head:

• Read it
• Or else

I guess that's why they call it
a bullet list.

winged gargoyle

Squatting like a stone gargoyle beside the pond
Watching bright fish lazily tailing through clear water,
the large bird mind or didn't see my slow approach,
snapping pictures as I stepped across the grass
until I drew opposite. Then, with a turn of its head
a casual sidestep, an unfurling of massive wings
it lifted off, flapping away with slow beats
toward the street where a delivery truck
braked hard to avoid the windshield-wide
wingspan, sparing the frazzled creature
in its search of a familiar refuge in this
ever-changing and unfriendly world.