Blue sky on the day


Artemis II launched on time


Journey to the moon

By Diane E. Dockum

©April 1, 2026

I tip back my head as far as it goes
To see as far as my eyes can see
The stars are so many
Filling the depths
Of space
Farther than imagination stretches
To visions unseen and ages old
Still unfolding
As our planet spins
Night sky
Unpolluted by street lights
Is hard to find now
But I come from the
Country where there is True night
Where Unspoiled
Stars are sharp as straight pins
And feel like
Sprinkles of ice water
On your face as you
Tip back your head
To quench your soul


©April 24, 2016
Reposted April 30, 2025
Diane E. Dockum

Trees with wounded limbs
Wave wildly in the wind
Small, green strings from fetal leaves
Dance in the music of the breeze

The hot, dry day turns dark with a sigh
Clouds gather, rain begins to cry
Thunder rolls in, the symphony of might
In the stormy cloak of approaching night

Sleepy eyes, heavy with the storm’s serenade
Cozy is the day as light starts to fade
Wrapped in the rumbling storm 
A tranquil retreat

Vibrations of thunder, 
A blanket’s caress,
Nature’s own cradle
A haven of rest

In the heart of the storm
Peace is found
In the cozy cocoon
Of nature’s sound


©April 29, 2025
Diane E. Dockum

Sometimes only paper
Will listen.
Sometimes only the pen
Will speak.

As I move to another chair,
I leave the warmth of
The seat I left behind,
Because I search for a new perspective.

I need a new view.
My hand moves my pen.
The ink makes its mark.
The paper hears my pen,

But does not converse,
Remaining blank and open
Offering lines for guidance;
Awaiting the words.

I wait for the words.
Am I the paper?
Is my mind the pen?
If thoughts were ink

The wind would carry
Words to the clouds;
A million colored lines
Reaching to infinity.


©April 28, 2025
Diane E. Dockum

The End waited quietly by the door,
And when I was not looking,
Came into the room
And tapped me on the shoulder.
Startled,
My heart fell from my chest.
I held it in my arms.
Then my heart was gone.
I had to let it go.
Departing as silently as he came,
The End
Left like a thief in the night

©April 27, 2025
Diane E. Dockum

Rain is soaking
Into my muscles,
My skin,
My bones.
Clammy air is in
My house.
I wait for the furnace
To start blowing warmth,
And look for a sweater.
I think
I should put on socks.
My mistake,
It is too early for sandals.
But the grass is greening,
Buds are opening.
One of these days
My mind will turn to yardwork,
And I will feel you
Watching me as I
Take care of your patch
Of Earth and strive for
Your idea of how it
Should be.
I'll ask out loud, 
“Am I doing okay?”
I expect that somehow
You will let me know
I’m doing just fine.



©April 26, 2025
Diane E. Dockum

I remember my dad picking me up from school at lunchtime
I would ride home and he would make me a lunch
Maybe a soup and sandwich 
Tomato and grilled cheese or
Chicken and rice and baloney
Then I would be driven back to school
And dropped off outside the classroom door 
That's when that feeling would hit me
I really didn't want to go back
Once I had been home already
As I stood in the hallway
Outside my kindergarten room
I wondered if I was in the right place
Mostly because I was 5 and it was nap time
And the room had been darkened
And all the cots were out
And I couldn't read Miss Murphy’s name yet 
So I didn't know my dad had left me 
At the correct classroom door
It was all so confusing
That horrible feeling like a slowly swelling
Buzz from my gut and a frozen feeling
Of a heart pounding sense of just how small
I really was 
And just how big the world was
Sometimes I feel that now 
Alone in my house after a busy noisy day
Caring for little children
It starts as a slightly painful tickle in my abdomen
That grows up toward my diaphragm
And into my chest, my jaw
My ears filled with the electrical
Hum of the silence


©April 25, 2025
Diane E. Dockum

My dream would not
reveal itself —

It vanished with 
The dawn —

Shadows caught in
Corners of my eyes —

Reflections moving on
Smooth surfaces —

A noise only I
Could hear —

Music from a distant room —

Indistinct voices murmur 
From the back of
My mind

To catch all that mercury
In a sieve
Would be a feat —

Then I could show the
Substance, like a
Cobweb in the rain


©️April 24, 2025
Diane E. Dockum

It's nearly three
And time for Tea --
At nine
It's time for wine

I'll have another
Snack at ten
And maybe some
More wine by then

Eleven, twelve
One, and Two
I will be sleeping --
Hope I do

At three I pee
And have a drink
Back to sleep
'Til nine, I think

©April 23, 2025
Diane E. Dockum

I ironed the shirts,
The collars and the cuffs.
I was careful around the buttons.
I was a woman standing
At the ironing board, 
No matter who fell from the sky,
No matter how many wars were happening.
I hurried and sweated under 
My night gown.
I cooked and cleaned and loved
No matter what the politics.
I was a woman.
Here I folded laundry,
Held the sleeves together,
Smoothing them down.
The tenderness of care, for love
No matter what happened
Out there.
The babies came.
I pulled a plan for a thousand
Suppers from my brain,
And little girls stood by me
To see how it was done.

©April 22, 2025

Diane E. Dockum