-
Let Joy Wake Us (Poem)
smoke and ash haze the sky
their murk a blind concealing the sun
nothing new in this fire
the world has always burned
even in the coldest ice
knowing this
do we see only the flames
or choose to rest and look beyond
to the clear light from the moon and stars
our own awareness as it abides
-
Let Sorrow Wake Us (Poem)
the house falls around us
walls collapsing one by one
roof-beams so rotted they cannot hold
flooring derelict beyond repair
still we turn our faces away
choosing to ignore each crash
our eyes fixed in rabid gaze
on the dirty mirror where we think we live
and in our disordered ignorance
everything glitters with fake tawdy shine
-
First Morning Walk (Poem)
ground overhung with fog and drip from trees
all light subdued and noise muffled
the lone volunteer pink rose now decimated
replaced by a pale white glory more fitted to the hour
tracks uncharacteristically silent
the railroad corvids yet to convene
until after the train’s blasting rumble
detritus trail their reason to gather
the stream beside the field similarly uninhabited
its usual raft of ducks absent
its murmur now audible without their squawk and paddle
an accompaniment to the huff of my dog
rainbow-hued ribbon of birdsong
curling through branches and along rooftops
a threaded brightness pointing beyond
to the ever-present light of the sun
