She sits in the back corner of the cafe Like a well-worn fifth edition Of the Betty Crocker Cookbook Greasy paged, notes scribbled in the margins Open to the recipe for tater-tot casserole And how to stretch hamburger To feed a hungry family Only now the children are...

I wrote this poem after reconnecting with a friend over Easter vacation.  I have been struggling to write a poem about her for years...it finally flowed. Coffee Cafe Customers:  The Quilter My old friend sits at the table like a lump of dough. The discontent rises...

Coffee Cafe Customers: The Jock His athletic build bursts from the confines of his fragile cafe chair Like the bulging, cloth-bound collection Of models in twisting poses Drawn by Leonardo Swift pen marks capture The essence of movement His legs protrude From satin...

Coffee Cafe Customers: The Hippie He stands erect with a white wizard beard and long snowy hair neatly pulled back in a band. He is wearing a crisp linen shirt and creased khaki pants and burnished cowboy boots. He looks like a leather-bound collector's edition of Rip...

Herding Cats!  That's what subbing for Kindergarten is like. And today there was one boy who refused to do a single worksheet.  He just sat there and stuck all his crayons between his fingers. When I asked him to start working, he calmly ripped his worksheet in half....

Columbine Nursery Rhyme Oh, Johnny brought a gun to school His teacher cried, “You are a fool! I also have a gun,” she said And shot dear Johnny in the head. Then little kids cried out with glee “We love a school-wide shooting spree! There's really nothing now to fear...