Publication note:  My poem “The Congresswoman’s Brain” was published on vox poetica’s today’s words page over the weekend. It is now on the poemblog. Many thanks to editor Annmarie Lockhart!

Early this afternoon, they moved into the wax myrtle, which gets the most direct midday sunshine. I suspect they will migrate back to the pear tree by sunset.

So far, the overwhelming majority are Blue Dashers, but Halloween Pennants and Golden Skimmers should show up before too long. Maybe even a few new species. This will be our twelfth summer here, and I had never seen damselflies in the yard before this spring. Now they make regular stops in the irises.

I love how the yard changes from season to season and year to year. It’s an ordinary yard on an ordinary street in an ordinary city, proving over and over again the extraordinary nature of “ordinary”.

Life on Mars by Tracy K. Smith

After finishing Life on Mars, I couldn’t bear to stop reading. I flipped back to the beginning, and it was like starting a whole new book. The poems grew and changed between readings, making me feel as if I grew and changed with them. Absolutely amazing poetry.

Links to a few poems from the book:

My God, It’s Full of Stars

The Universe is a House Party

Alternate Take: Levon Helm

Video link:

Tracy K. Smith reads from Life on Mars for the NewsHour Poetry Series

Here’s more of that interview and reading:

Busy bellows of corruption
Poisoning earth
With what rusts

From saline retreats
Tilted engines of life
For the record, the riddle

Marching on a muddled shore
Squat and stony muses
Of marvel and breath
In this weathered, easy air

A brief storm tested the dove nest today. Lots of lightning and thunder, but very little wind and only a modest amount of rain. No damage to report, despite the ominous looking clouds. (Photos taken on iPhone and adjusted with the Photoshop Express application.)