Small

Perhaps nature is far too vast to know. Some say we’re destined for potted plants. Maybe we can’t scale the Sierras. We’re doomed to communion with ants.   But they don’t know that ants can heft boulders, And plants when they’re watered will grow Into pines, that inspire all around …

Warden

My mother’s father drove to his warden job at the maximum security prison. He drove there in a Volkswagen Beetle with a spare tire under a smiley-face cover.   My ears have never caught Papa yelling. Did that jail calm him? No, he quieted the cells. Mother said his voice was never …