Pompeii, 79 AD

A loaf of bread Italian style,
rounded, wedge sliced
by a practiced hand, found
intact.  One of eight left unsold,
brick-oven fresh and crusty
before Vesuvius scorched it,
wrapped it in volcanic ash
like the donkey out back
still in its traces, head tossed
in protest, nostrils flared,
no longer grinding wheat,
and the baker fleeing seaward.


Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

Seagulls

searching

for an early morning meeting spot

          someone forgot to schedule

                         wander

like office workers

           without that first cup of joe

try an empty parking lot

before being rousted

                                by self-important wheels

      grumbling

committee members      leave in a flurry

      mill around across the way

                              agree to regroup later.

A few drift towards Starbucks

unruffled.

This week's blog is simply a beginning, and I will leave you with this to ponder:

On Leaving

Do snowbirds and black bears
use the same agent
for opposite winter arrangements?