Tap Dancing on the Roof (3 page)

FROG

How proud you are of your strong legs!
Bend and straighten, kick and swim;
soon you will use them to climb
from cool water to sun-warm rock.

But do you wonder where it's gone—
the tail that once served you so well?

Summer Storm

Lightning jerks the sky awake to take her photograph,
flash!
Which draws grumbling complaints or even crashing tantrums from thunder—

He hates having his picture taken, so he always gets there late.

Ocean Emotion

The red flag waves its stern warning:
DANGER—NO SWIMMING TODAY.
The ocean churns, foams, roars, dashes,
hurls huge breakers at the sand!

The next day it's all tired out
and takes a long nap in the sun.

Souvenirs

In the shop there are baskets of sand dollars, white and round and smooth.
On the beach I search hard but find only shards, never a whole one.

Are all the perfect sand dollars locked away somewhere—in sand banks?

Tide Line

While I sleep, Moon hauls the heavy waves to just the right spot.

On my morning walk, I see how she's redecorated the beach:
The sand freshly scalloped. New fringes of kelp. Shells rearranged.

Tennis

When the professionals play,
it's like watching a metronome:
Racquet to racquet and back again,
the ball keeps a perfect, steady beat.

When I'm on the court with my friends,
we improvise: jazz, hip-hop.

Defender

Everyone wants to get the ball,
run with it, and score a goal.
But when we win one-nothing,
that "nothing" means everything,

It's tough, playing for nothing.
Defense: Intense immense suspense.

Botany Lesson

Mom pampers her houseplants, talks to them,
tells them to stand up tall.
But sometimes they give up, lie down, go brown.
They should learn from the weeds—
pushing through the pavement cracks,
smart, tough. Keeping at it, staying green.