My Broken Heart Floats, Onion Song

So last November on my birthday I was cleaning up, putting fresh sunflower seeds out for the finches, house and gold, who like them from the hanging tray in the corner under the eave, just outside my kitchen window. I love this. I go to the sink and these little ones (the house finches are bigger than the goldfinches) are there doing that complicated jockeying thing they do while they dine and throw the seeds everywhere. Earlier and later they sit on the wires above my car in the driveway and poop in a diagonal line across the roof and hood and a little of the trunk of my car. Or else they roost in the top of the dogwood, waiting for me to get the hell out of there.

But as I was cleaning up the water dish I also have hanging there, here is what I found,

My Broken Heart Floats

I didn't know my heart floats.
I found it in the beaten copper dish
I fill with shallow water for visitors
Who feed on the seeds I put out.

I didn't know, face up or down
That my broken heart would float,
Nor that I could stand it.

I was on the short stepped stool
Looking into myself, past myself
Into the water holding me,
Into the endings of things,
Of small feathered things,
Into the price I pay for inviting
Wild birds into my life.

Later I noticed no apparent change
In the population of visitors to my station.

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For a very long time onions have been a favorite of mine. There is a fine dining steak house in Portland called the Ringside. Years ago they expanded and added the Ringside East, which I have gone to more often through the years. These guys have a salad, the only place I know that lists it on the menu. Slices of beefsteak tomato and slices of Walla Walla sweets. That's all it is. A big plate of them, by the way. I love this beyond what I can say. I am very fond of tomatoes, eat one of them or more every day. Lycopene is man food :) What I do is put fresh squeezed lemon juice, salt and pepper on them...Damn! makes your mouth squirt doesn't it? I just love that salad. Then of course there are the onion rings the way the Ringside does them....ohhhhhh. I have no room for the steak. But of course it's great too, and of course I roll out of there. This, I think, might be better than even great sex. Well maybe not great sex.

But what has happened :( I have a belly has lost the capacity to take raw onion. Oh nooooooo. I get backed up in a most unpleasant way. This really sucks! It is as bad as being told no more sex. Worse perhaps. Wait a minute. This is not funny. No laughing. At least cooking the onions takes out the sting for me and so I still get to eat onion rings. I really like onions.

Onion Song

I have onions too.
I know you do. Ain't it grand?
Put the blame right there.
Onions.

Walla-Walla Sweets.
Golden layers squirt their juice
Every which way.
Tears.

Eat them like apples.
But then I get all backed up.
It is how things are.
Life.