May 2008

by Craig Oare

The noble bird is framed in my sigh,

waiting for the camera to take him.

Sadie, caged Earth Tribe warrior,

looking at these pictures in the mail,

staring out her window at the sky.

Now I’ve got some fleeting forest light,

and heron glides serenely on his way

after consenting to our collaboration.

Sadie sleeping in her federal cell,

Dreaming every night of wings and flight.

July 2006

by Craig Oare

It's my fate or fortune to be off work today,

and here are a few jumbled jottings:

It's the end of May, a warm Wednesday,

my sister's anniversary,

the morning after the evening

when we walked down our westside hill

and she took some striking photos

of the Stryker ship at the Port of Olympia.

It looked like something from Star Wars,

a big Death Star war boat

juxtaposed with a postcard image

of Rainier in its summer glory.

One of the cranes from that angle

resembled monstrous alligator jaws,

loading lethal equipment bound

for the oil fields of Armageddon.