Moon a water-bearing crescent.

1 inverted 9 of Wands, covering
Persistent
self-protection.
Strength in opposition.
Wormwood.
Lynx -
natural camouflage
for disappearance.
When in doubt
throw it out.

2 seed (Page) of Stones, crossing
Bumblebee
tending to fields of love.
Work
purpose.
Sleeps right in the flower.
Stamina.
Work of joy.
Legs carrying pollen.

3 Crown 7 of Thunder, goals
Best that can be achieved.
Lynx again,
looking back,
sensing deceit
Something unbalanced,
dishonesty.
Reclaiming themselves.
Meditation,
taking space,
listening to what is right.
It's OK to keep your truth from the world.
Let the lightning illuminate your clarity of thought.
Authenticity.

4 Eight of stones, foundation
Craft,
the divine flowing through you.
Enough to be grounded and centered.
Practice.
Connect to our source.
Doing what you love.

5 Ace of Wands inverted, environment now changing
Abundance of creative energy -
you have the key, and (but) the door is open.
Courage,
heightened enthusiasm.
Initiation,
personal project.
Gift to share with the world -
your authentic self.
Cover the earth with love and light.
See it. Own it.

6 6 of Thunder, the new situation that's beginning to prevail
Riding an orca.
Moving on, 
letting go.
Traveling
not on a boat
but on the back of a whale.
Proposal of love.
We are supported.
Energy of sun and moon.
Change the lense of your mind's eye.
Rediscover the paths that were lost.

7 Seed of thunder inverted, the You card, stance toward the situation
Arctic white fox.
Incessant need to understand.
Objective, conscientious.
Step into the air!
Take the leap!
Own your foxness!

8 Death, inverted. friends and family
Freedom.
End of cycle, new chapter.
Space to transform.
Be patient.
Time to shed what doesn't serve you.
Leave the shell and crawl into a new vibrant shell

9 Seed of wands. Hopes and fears, inmost thoughts.
Blissful seal. 
Spotted seal ready to lead the way.
Be courageous!
Innocence of youth.
Look at how cute the seal is!

10 Harvest of Stones (inverted), result
Musk ox -
baby musk ox
Reliable,
grounded.
She provides balance.
Big generous heart.
Does your step need extra spark?
Getting the job done.
This card loves me like a mother.

11 Justice, upright
What seeds, what dreams can you effect?
More healing,
more integrity,
more equanimity.
Decision.
Patience with ease and trust.

12 Flower of Cups, upright
Intuition through the unconscious.
Connection to sacred space.
Telepathy.
Empathy.
You listening.

haiku

toes grasping granite
granite grasping toes more like
grantoes grasping it

Thank you, Amanda Gorman!

Will the villein submit their villanelles
for journal publication,
or will they say the hell with it?

Will submitting be a sour pill,
or will it be a jubilation,
so that submitting their villanelles

before a selection process won’t feel
masochistic (no publication
guaranteed, whether or not they say the hell with it)?

They just put their pecker on the chopping
block and make the decision
to submit their bleeding villanelles.

Not that they have a snowflake’s chance in hell
of competing with Amanda Gorman,
but after Gaga, Garth and J Lo sing, Into the sky with it!,

there won’t be anyone else,
besides them and us and J Bi, to rule the nation.
So, will the Villein submit their villanelles?
Nah, the hell with it!

Anarchy Burger

I get my marching orders from whom,
on a day when goons occupied the Capitol,
ordered me to learn that scary Vandals song,

Anarchy Burger. I’ll croon
it sweeter than a dove, and it will be my radical
choice to take my singing orders from whom

other than my best friend Ulalume,
on a day when our lame-duck maniac
President sent rioting orders to his vandal team,

whom he’d already gaslighted to their ghastly doom—
to them, dear and irreplaceable.
OK, so whom

do I really yearn for in my lonely room,
do I adulate and light a candle
for, so much as to learn that scary Vandals song?

Someone whom I’m at home
with, who’ll walk with me into a better world—
who'll be giving me my marching orders from
now on, to have learned that scary Vandals song.

Ground Hog's Day

Is it possible to leave without letting the door
hit me in the butt because I wish I could stay?
I thought I was all done, but I’ve been here before.

Always ready to help them what can't hear,
because they’re learning how to sing the hard way.
So, is it wrong to slam the door

on my only chance to embark on my world tour—
dropping back in the pocket like John Elway,
thinking Ive got a clear lane, but I’ve been here before

with my nose guard digging up flowers.
I thought I was untouchable, but I paid
a steep-ass price for closing the door

on a whole heap of genuine poetic manure.
In spite of all my friends could say,
I set out for the west because I’ve been here before—

dodging Aunt Sally, that civilizin’ whore.
I know I have to live life my own way,
so I'm leaving and I'm not letting the door
hit me in the butt, either. I’ve been here before.

George, Don’t Chop Down the Cherry Tree!

Other than my closest friends,
why should I give two fucks what anyone thinks?
Who'll be with me when the story ends?

I’m tied together with rubber bands.
Knees and elbows make imperfect links,
but I'll dangle here until the story ends.

Just a puppet carved of wood.
I’ll dance the limberjack,
clacking until the music ends.

I'm glad I don’t yet wear Depends,
but why should I give two fucks if the furniture stinks
because I've got a wet hind end?

I’d as soon take as give a fuck,
but my nose pivots like a periscope,
standing up to suss out how the evening ends.

God, this scene is rinky-dink!
Who’ll blame me for climbing my beanstalk,
not caring what the Giant thinks?
How does Jack and the Beanstalk end?

The Voice of Athena

I’ve gotten to be dependent on Heather Cox Richardson.
She reads the news, so I don’t have to.
She keeps me from panicking

about all the reappointments in the Pentagon,
for instance, or all the abusive lawsuits
to keep Biden out of office. Heather Cox Richardson

sets me straight on everything—
like, is there going to be a military coup?
I’m just on the verge of panicking

when her fearless, reasonable
voice is right here, showing how we’ve gone through this before:
way back in Reconstruction

times, “socialism” already meant bailing out
urban folks whom rural and suburban folks don’t like,
right-wingers always in a panic-fit

that the government will take away their mun.
If we don’t like you, it’s not fair for you to vote.
That’s why I'll listen to Heather Cox Richardson
until our Nazi President is finally gone.