Diane Vogel Ferri’s full-length poetry book is Everything is Rising (Luchador Press). Her latest novel is No Life But This: A Novel of Emily Warren Roebling (Atbosh Media) Her essays have been published in The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Scene Magazine, and Yellow Arrow Journal, among others. Her poems can be found in numerous journals such as Wend Poetry, Blue Heron Review, Rubbertop Review, and Poet Lore. Her previous publications are Liquid Rubies (poetry), The Volume of Our Incongruity (poetry), and The Desire Path (novel). She has done many poetry readings locally. Diane’s essay, “I Will Sing for You” was featured at the Cleveland Humanities Festival in 2018. A former teacher, she holds an M.Ed from Cleveland State University and is a founding member of Literary Cleveland. Her poem, For You, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best of The Net 2023

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

On the Deck

wallowing in my head
looking for a poem
gives me ADHD.
All I can see is the red bird
making U-turns in mid-air
to avoid me as I sit next
to the birdfeeder.
All I can hear is a distant hammer,
someone is building something
just like I would like to be
building a poem.
I have to watch every time
the dog bolts across the yard
for a black squirrel
even though we both know
she will never catch it.
Then the pink petunias
are nice to look at and so is the
fountain that just turned on next door.
The hammock looks inviting
but it's difficult to write lying down.
I notice the air smells sweet
after the the rain and
OH HELL - forget the poem writing!

7 comments:

Kat Mortensen said...

But somehow you managed it! (It's a good one, too.)

Kat

Cliff said...

If I ever see you at a reading again, I want you to read this one.

Ms Hen's said...

I like this one...

I like the part 'building a poem'... especially.

RachelW said...

Haha! Oh, yes. I visit this place too, often.

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

I loved this. I can almost never write while outside.

Amy said...

But you're still inspired by all the beauty in your back yard! ;o)

Rob-bear said...

Great lines; lots of fun.

BTW -- if the dog ever caught the squirrel, which of those two would be more surprised?