Progress
My appreciation to guest editor Allyson Whipple for curating the fantastic issue 97 and including my haibun, “Progress.”
The cat chatters in the window, and I read while crows
destroy the front lawn. They start in a corner and dig like
clam hunters. Carefully. Quietly. Not a single caw between
them. The next day, more crows join the feast. The cat and I
do nothing. Our neighbors use tinfoil scarecrows and sprays.
Only a small portion of grass remains now. The rest of the
yard is tilled like a farmer’s field. I’ll try to grow grass again
next year.
crop dusters
another childhood friend
has cancer
cjeandowner
C. Jean Downer writes traditional whodunits with a magical twist. She's a self-proclaimed expert in the field, with thousands of mystery books, television episodes, and movies to her reading and viewing credit. Even her family refuses to watch mysteries with her because of her gifts of deduction unless she zips it. If she was younger and braver, she'd trade her Ph.D. for a PI in a heartbeat! C’est la vie. Downer is the author of Lies Are Forever, the first book of the Sloane West Mysteries, and a published poet. She lives in White Rock, British Columbia, with her wife of twenty-plus years, their two fabulous daughters, two lazy dogs, and three chill cats.
