Life in my backyard

BACKYARD PETS

Chipmunks scurry here and there
And visit at my feet
Where I have placed a dish of seeds
That offers them a treat

They fill their grotesque pouches
Then take it down to store
Where it’s added to their larder
Then they return for more

Sometimes they put their little paws
Upon my fingertips
To reach the seeds within my palm
With tiny nibbling lips

My yard is full of openings
To tunnels underground
With nesting dens and pantries
Where they live all year ‘round

4/6/00 Phyllis DeWitt -VanVleck

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After reading about the 3 Chihuahua puppies who cornered a full grown Cougar, I had to post this.

KILLER

Killer’s what we call our hound,
But he betrays his name …
While serving as a guard dog
He greets them all, the same.

All comers to our big front door
Are greeted with a kiss,
Then he bellies-up for a rub
With a grand look of bliss.

He’s as gentle as a kitten
And wouldn’t harm a fly.
If I command, “Go get ’em, dog!”,
He collapses with a sigh.

And if he feels I’m threatened,
He’ll take a great big breath,
And knock them down with his big paws,
Then slobber them to death.

6/2/94 Phyllis DeWitt VanVleck

2’nd … Indiana NPD (1995)
7’th … N F S P S (2002)

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I bow my head in thanks

BEYOND MY WINDOW

I have a colorful garden
With flowers in great array
Wild beauties in rich profusion
So vibrant in display

I didn’t plant a single thing
God placed them where they grow
Just beyond my pristine lawn
So I enjoy their show

There is lupine and pink primrose
And beautiful shooting stars
There are daisies by the dozens
I place in old fruit jars

I have tall Indian paintbrush
And cardinal flowers, too
Coneflowers stand majestically
As arbutus trails through

Daylilies in their brightest orange
And deep-hued violets
I have columbine and trillium
And tiny white bluets

There’s lobelia, blue to purple
Some morning glory banks
And sunflowers bowing heavy heads . . .
Now I bow mine in thanks

9/5/01 Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck

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I know someone this happened to, although she arrived at school, sans dress.

FASHION STATEMENT

Her schedule was usually a mess
And a faux pau she should confess
She once combed and brushed
Donned coat as she rushed

And arrived at the Ball sans dress

8/28/90 Phyllis DeWitt VanVleck

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Beauty when you fly

CAROLINA WREN

Little brown wren with beady eye
Is there any reason why
Your tiny tail points to the sky
You leave small stitch-marks in the snow
Flicking your tail when on the go
Are you trying to wave “hello”

You hop around my patio floor
Eating seeds placed by my door
As countless times you’ve done before
And all this time, your tail’s held high
Is that for balance when you fly
Or just for beauty when you’re neigh

Little brown bird with beady eye
I doubt there is a reason why
Your tiny tail points to the sky
It’s a family flag for birds like you
And not intended as a clue
It’s just what small wrens always do

3/27/01 Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck

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A treasured gift

FEATHERED BEAUTY

Sapphire bluebird, is it true
That you were born to be so blue?
Or did you one day fly so high
You scraped some blue paint from the sky?

And what about your russet chest?
Was it stained within the nest?
Or when you flew above the crowds,
Was it skimmed from sunset clouds?

From whence they came should matter not,
God placed you in that color slot.
Feathered beauty from above,
A treasured gift of His great love.

10/12/96 Phyllis DeWitt VanVleck

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I will face the future

AN ENDING

I never believed you’d hurt me
Or ever be untrue
I thought you’d always care for me
The same as I did you

The magic left our love, I guess
Somewhere along the line
And so you gave to someone else
The love I thought was mine

I wish that I could run away
And leave my pain behind
But nothing’s solved by hiding
And it wouldn’t ease my mind

For I must live with such a wound
‘Til heartache’s on the wane,
And love then finds my heart again
When time has healed the pain

And so I’ll face the future
Though difficult it be
For from now on, it’s you and I
And never again … we

7/23/73 Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck

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