Driving by LeeAnn Pickrell

Alexander Mass

Driving

Acacia frames both sides 

of the road into Santa Cruz

Head back, I let myself drift

a leaf to the ground

in this sacrament of the 

present moment his hand

finds mine

© LeeAnn Pickrell

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LeeAnn Pickrell

LeeAnn Pickrell’s debut collection is Gathering the Pieces of Days from Unsolicited Press. Her chapbook Punctuated was published in 2024 by Bottlecap Press, and her book Tsunami is forthcoming in 2026, also from Unsolicited Press. She lives in Richmond, California. See more at www.leeannpickrell.com.

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A hummingbird pauses by the window by LeeAnn Pickrell

Frank Cone

A hummingbird pauses by the window

where I sit writing   I swear 

it’s my friend Norma flitting around 

two days after her memorial 

a reminder to step 

into the morning glory’s purple gaze

to welcome the ancient oak in the dog park

that offers me a branch 

low enough to climb and sit on

That night the full moon hanging low in the sky

over the city, over the bay, over the town,

guiding us home after the jazz show

where the singer’s voice 

tumbled and rose with the saxophone 

like the moon playing hide and seek 

with the clouds

The next day two hummingbirds 

fly figure eights near our cherry tree

—fruitless—yet this morning 

a crimson cherry hangs by its stem

(Originally published on Poem Farm, June 22, 2025)

© LeeAnn Pickrell

Enjoy other posts by LeeAnn Pickrell HERE.

LeeAnn Pickrell

LeeAnn Pickrell’s debut collection is Gathering the Pieces of Days from Unsolicited Press. Her chapbook Punctuated was published in 2024 by Bottlecap Press, and her book Tsunami is forthcoming in 2026, also from Unsolicited Press. She lives in Richmond, California. See more at www.leeannpickrell.com.

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Hope by LeeAnn Pickrell

Ray Bilcliff

Hope

is a still whisper. 

Only if you lean in, 

hush the world’s noise,

can you hear her voice

in the scratch of squirrels 

playing up and down 

redwood’s trunk.

Lying in bed awaiting 

sleep you might hear her 

in the owl’s brief call.

She floats like dust motes 

in the corner of a room, 

as the quick blaze of sunlight 

between storm clouds, 

nasturtium growing 

through impossible fence boards. 

You’ll sense her in 

the hint of jasmine 

before you cross a busy street, 

essence of a neighbor’s rose, 

tang of an orange peel.

Taste her in spring’s strawberry, 

honeyed juice of a peach,

that first sip of coffee.

She’s the down of a cat.

dew of morning grass,

solace of a foot reaching 

across to warm your own 

in the night.

© LeeAnn Pickrell

Enjoy other posts by LeeAnn Pickrell HERE.

LeeAnn Pickrell

LeeAnn Pickrell’s debut collection is Gathering the Pieces of Days from Unsolicited Press. Her chapbook Punctuated was published in 2024 by Bottlecap Press, and her book Tsunami is forthcoming in 2026, also from Unsolicited Press. She lives in Richmond, California. See more at www.leeannpickrell.com.

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Poetry by LeeAnn Pickrell

Gioele Gatto

The Spring I Waited for the Dogwood to Bloom

Every day that spring

I watched 

Every morning

I walked out

my white robe trailing 

across the wooden boards

Splinters scratched 

the soles of my feet

My hands wrapped 

around a mug of coffee

steaming in the still cool air

I had come to the woods

to cocoon myself in green brush

and gray thunderclouds

as if in a room of my own

I could become

someone else deliberately

I waited 

for the lime-green blossoms to appear

the petals to unfold

toward the warming sun

The flowers faded to white

painting the forest 

in eyelet lace

When I emerged 

the dogwood blossoms had fallen

green leaves covered

the thin branches

I was only myself

yet softened by mornings 

I stood still enough

patient for once in my life

to see a dogwood tree bloom

First published in Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche, vol. 15, no. 2 (2021)

In the mail a spring morning

blossoms a new haiku 

tap tap of hammers as I meditate

crows skittering on the roof

crossing a suspension bridge

over a fast-running creek

walking the stations of a life

swimming hole

bench

waterfall

© LeeAnn Pickrell

Enjoy other posts by LeeAnn Pickrell HERE.

LeeAnn Pickrell

LeeAnn Pickrell’s debut collection is Gathering the Pieces of Days from Unsolicited Press. Her chapbook Punctuated was published in 2024 by Bottlecap Press, and her book Tsunami is forthcoming in 2026, also from Unsolicited Press. She lives in Richmond, California. See more at www.leeannpickrell.com.

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Kindnesses by LeeAnn Pickrell

Ba Tik

Kindnesses

You hand me the cup of coffee, 

fresh brewed, as I walk into the kitchen 

just awake in my stockinged feet.

Each night when I brush my teeth 

my toothbrush has been charged 

because you switch out the plugs each day.

When you go to the store 

how often do you come home 

with something just for me—

this week, It’s-It Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches.

The tile patio table I write on 

passed along to us by an acquaintance 

because she knew we liked it.

The hickory rake for the rock garden,

the sloped writing desk in the back bedroom, 

both made by our friend, just for me, just for us.

I take the ingredients out—gnocchi, spinach,

grated parmesan and mozzarella cheese—

and make dinner. Yesterday,

the day after the election and the country fell, 

I sent texts—I love you—to my brother, my mom.

I laughed with a friend last night on Facetime.

Put the trash bags in the can unasked. 

Gathered the redwood needles 

swept from the tree in yesterday’s wind. 

The sun rises each morning, 

some days breaking through the clouds, 

some days not. But it’s there, 

even during the most devastating storms

the sun is there, above the clouds, it rises and falls. 

Just this morning I watched a monarch butterfly 

drink from a Cosmos daisy. 

© LeeAnn Pickrell

Enjoy other posts by LeeAnn Pickrell HERE.

LeeAnn Pickrell

LeeAnn Pickrell’s debut collection is Gathering the Pieces of Days from Unsolicited Press. Her chapbook Punctuated was published in 2024 by Bottlecap Press, and her book Tsunami is forthcoming in 2026, also from Unsolicited Press. She lives in Richmond, California. See more at www.leeannpickrell.com.

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