Mourning – you flew over indigo waters,
landing
Stealthy stalker you walked the shallows
billing silvery minnows
On rust red stilts, you’re built
to move in watery fields
Eyes piercing depths of algae blooms
rippled, your swaying seaweed room
Silent hunter,
feathery plumed
She loved the pale moon
he traveled beneath night’s sky
woven by starlight
She loved the moon
long awaited ripeness full
Stood gazing
out the window
Then came a fool
to close the shades
his senses dull
blinded dark
her world
Your eyes of clear water oceans, endless as stars
and seas I’ve crossed – a perfect tide gathered me whole
healing waters washed our days, birds of fluted music played
Breathing in
the rhythm of wind
we float, suspended as the stars
surrendering to the hypnotic glow of moon
We who lay
our troubled hours
soft on maiden ferns
never a lesson, but
for love’s sake
shall we ever need
to learn
Buoyant snowflakes sideways crashed
dripping down grey window glass,
stinging winds blew harsh – the lash
of winter.
High in pines, do they shiver,
nesting birds deeply hidden?
or
do they warmly slumber,
with downy feathers, nestled under,
night’s darkest cold, before
the light of dawn?
There were birds, and yesterday’s flowers,
the children laughing, never noticed fall retreating
or when winter began, forest faeries sprinkled snowflakes,
sparkling to cover the land, with magic until the Spring again,
when all their days were deep in lilies, silken petals
held dear in tiny hands, and very soon
Summer berries, reddest cherries
were laden sweetly, solely
just for them.
Lily white the mountains disappearing into sky,
silence of snow, growing ever deep the day and fades away,
I cannot tell where cloud meets dell, on such a winter’s eve.
Night will glow in moon tones, cold the foggy grey,
stars will shine for another, some other world away.
Dark and light, void of color, a palette
in winter shades.
It was as if they wrote only to set us free,
never thinking twice about the landing or flight,
plowing dirt fields, with scores of prose, in sorrow and delight.
In a room of sun, where seasons come
with snow and rain, and none will ever be the same,
long after the reading, and none will ever know the poet’s name
or why the words have opened wide
their buried hearts
to grieving.
Today – it came suddenly, like rain it came in sheets, stormy without warning
it left nothing to repair, no way to undo the longing, swift we fell, fumbling
as you flew far, forever and gone
with no one to find you
again at your home
Somehow I felt you smiling or knew you’d be laughing,
dancing in daisies, barefoot and singing Sinatra
on the other side, sweetly
by now
I lost my Father today, this just popped into my head. I hope to write something more poignant and meaningful about this loss in the coming days. A very sad day indeed my friends,
Cyd
In childhood days of dream, with grassy greens,
and swings we soared the warmest breeze,
in blue skies of laughter.
Under a canopy of wonder,
we laid under, O’ the hours of summer slumber,
the lazy slow of watching meadow flowers grow.
Spring it sings in budding greens and seeds
with rain and sun, the days you’ve grown
acorns planted for rebirth
I press my hands to your trunk
and feel myself divinely rooted to this earth.
The road unpaved, waved in winding red
high pines unfettered, buried feet under needles – strawed
Warmth of sap, fragrant, piney bled
Lithia springs ring clear, a tumbled water song
Owl tree softly spoke
to newborn lily fawn, caressed by mourning cloak
Sun begins to edge the hills
wings rise, and flies the morning fog
Fritillaria bends the light, leaning into
daybreak’s mantra song
* Mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) – common butterfly, found in many parts of the world
green forest child
you grow in sponge drenched soils
drawing me in – an epiphyte longing
sunlight piercing raindrops
of lettuce lichens drinking
mosses soaked, greening
softly underfoot
Far away
it must have been another world or looked a different planet,
the earth red as fire all the mountains wide, dawn of painted skies
banyan trees caressed the landscape, we rested under, dreaming
words echoed through vast rock walls
that seemingly had no end
drifting up and out the canyon, mingling with clouds
to fly away with birds, the words are floating in the air
connecting all the world
in the birdsong
that we hear
Freeing my life force
unblocking meridians
energy balanced
In that place where skies go swift and black
storms steal your silk and shiny petals
fading into yellow.
When words reign cold as winter rivers
running dark toward the shadows
strange roads, desert bones
can leave you deathly hollow.
Soul you speak to me, calling from far off planes
voice of wisdom, your power swirls round me
gentle as petals, you lift me from the fire
all ignorance forgiven
leaving only and indelible burning
of love in the heart
There is no river winding, trickles splash, vanish
silty waters stone cold, gone
glacial icy blues fading fast
recede deep into
our past
soon recalling
nothing
not even our
breath
Three flickers outside my window, smiling – I searched for meaning,
I wished forever joy could stay,
but one, two, three, they flew away
and with them took the fading sun
with clouds and rain soon falling down
now waits tomorrow, with shadows and sun
with joy and sorrow, the birds will come
Certain roads will beckon, haunted in their calling
enticing dreams, caress your head in pillows soft,
surreal, they wield black magic
leaving you stranded on roads unimagined, to unravel
dragging home, long through
dirt and gravel
When evening comes, the end of day
drink sweet the honey roses
and toast we two, day’s farewell
the sun to slip away
Til’ night appears fast before
a pearly blackened sea
Shells will sing
of warming winds
whistling through the hollows
A song of stars sparkling loud
humming skies of
moonlit ocean
My wintery windows, glow in many colored lights,
icy fog, distorts yellows, reds and blues
holly boughs and berries, pines of greenest hues
It is early, much too early
for morning birds still sleeping
snow will fall in swirling winds
from heavy branches weeping
Silver moon, too I see you fade
when foggy clouds go creeping
stars will follow and fade away
when comes the sun over
frosty rooftops peeking
Bright chartreuse edged, magenta flowers, with lavender
just beyond in the bee fields of summer, thousands of seeds, days spilling over
planted in early autumn rains, to wait again, dotted in red rows of poppies.
Today no clouds will come
only purple mountains glow, before the sun
beyond these fragrant hills, I wander
watching hawks and sparrows
til the golden day slips away
and I am lost between the space
of night and day, and lose all trivial words
and think how glorious
to be a bird
No more to swim in your bluest seas, farewell my dear Pacific,
long did you sustain a myriad of lives, true unimaginable bounty,
you gave all for free and still we stole your life away.
Goodbye salty sea air, no more to breathe your sweetness.
Soon a plume shall come, raining poison death upon us,
watch for wicked winds of radiation,
to silent creep, and deadly seep into
soil and irrigation, you mustn’t eat
of tainted wheat, now flee thee to
south of the equator.
To the trees, to sun
to birds and the ways of love
to breath – I thank you
Looking to the skies, sifting stars and lies – you dream,
someone waiting at the gate, watching very late the night
Talking to trees, swirling circles breeze, windy autumn
leaves you to fall, sailing golden ships
red and yellow slips, arduous trips will take you
Whispers shake the soul, only you will know
drums of heartbeats
that awake you
Grey woods, morning mist
hangs upon the trees, leaves decay, sway
falling to the ground
Quiet – this world, but the sound of rain
washing wet the berry vines, droplets
falling to the ground
Sparrows flit among sheltered branches,
nest’s to repair, twine and twigs
falling to the ground
Someone will be there, suddenly so near – your heart
listen to the wind, sweet music of your days together
still you have to go, leaving will be slow
agony awaits, your days will break
days will break – you
alone.
It came hollow as carved bone and cold
strange as moon glow shrouded in mists of fog
it blew breathless, deep as darkest space unnamed
with towering waves it came
crashing silent upon the earth and sea
Sun stars melted.
Who will light candles for them?
For whales, seals and the
fallen humans?
in response to Fukushima and the ongoing nuclear assault occurring on earth 🙁
and still they want more, total insanity.
And so they came to grow and grow, some flourished wild – under days of golden suns,
some never planted, only blew lonely across the fields of splitting winds
til a drifting life can no longer hold the certain breath of death
swallowed once again by the welcoming earth
a wildfire ignites, burning only for rebirth
life springs anew born of ash and fire.
Stone cold, the blackening sky, stole our field of flowers,
soon seeds of dandelions washed away
in watercolor charcoal skies
gone grey.
Tomorrow
all the brightest colors
a mourning
away.
Through wooded fog
fades the day, abandoned to the grey,
lost road, lost home – belonging to no one
Pictures found upon a mantle, dust and charcoal,
photos framed in rusty metal,
sepia shadows, a broken mirror
Collections of rocks and bones,
letters and sealing wax,
china cups, stained and cracked
Musty pages of paperbacks,
remnants of a life long ago.
Memories, pressed flowers of fading bells,
little relics, loved
so well
Lies, sins, pretty grins
a face to dance you away
spins your days so grey
Vine maples branch,
dappled paths lit green
Forest fronds reach for skies unseen
In deeper wood comes black of day
red cedar’s fallen to decay
Oxalis spring – softly flowered white
sway and lean into the light
Wild berries burst, upon a mossy floor
drinking sweet, red wine poured
mouse and bird drunk with delight
cozy sleep their woodland night
Pale white or maybe slightly gray, blue
looking through – little holes, grains of sand, blowing through
tossed about this stormy day, ocean spray
you can’t hold, lapping waves.
One day whispers will caress
your ears, salt and tears
You may break or drift, you can never tell
storms of love, pearls
and shells.
In a dream, somewhere in other countries, never mapped
a man was speaking, though I did not understand, there was never any plan
and I listened to the wind and rain upon the trees.
With no church bells to ring, and birds were the chorus
I came upon a silent steeple in the forest, standing on it’s own,
became a wild bird’s home, wrapped in thorny vines
a crown to stain, with berries, bled upon my hands.
Mary was there too, she was looking through
a broken window pane, calling out my name
and too, all the forest called, bathing me in love.
Then with the birds I flew, heavenly into
a deeper dream, til I awoke at dawn,
to fragrant flowers on the lawn
remembering such heaven.
The bridge, well worn, with slipping wood, crossing over
with secrets hidden, nearly fully under,
rainy days so long.
Her head – a flutter of lily moths, emerging, searching for air,
from a stifling room she fled, dark the forest bled
whispers, wings of white clouds through trees
swirl, drifting amidst dancing fields
on this day, learning
to be free.
Sweet desert fragrance
perfume lingers in my mind
long after the rain
Windows never see me, looking through
stairways never lead me to
all the places outside
at the day’s end
looking in
Blue day of sun rays will shine
stars beam, yellow moon streams
make drowsy eyes dream
Nightjars
glide through fragrant cedar trees
starlit, past the silence
to a place of dream
I could no longer see the sky, stars all blackly veiled, senses numbed
in the gathering storm, a smokey room void of living breath
choked the night air, gasping
consternation of a dark wilderness
a sad vanishing note, played
unrecognizable
It’s like an Arctic wind, a bitter cold hovering
piercing, icy lunged we breathe the hollows in
A dense fog surrounding time, trapping
moments like hours, waiting the days like years
spilling over one another, waiting like a flower
to open in the sun.
I came to know that all is borrowed,
even time
One day I bought a property, thinking it mine
as if I could somehow claim it – that which is truly wild,
perhaps appears temporarily tamed
shall one day be reclaimed,
swallowed by time
no memory,
no name
Winds cannot whittle away this morning, blowing through my waking window
sweet, they only sing me from sleep and bring to me, birds I’ve heard in other dreamy dawns.
Joyful, thinking of friends to meet, along the streets or on soft summer lawns,
watching – like a magic trick, waiting for surprise,
now orange, pink, red upon my bed,
a world of dazzling skies!
She said it was wisteria, florets draped
framing her windows
vines climbed overreaching the rooftop
swallows flew by, just before night skies
twilight flashed orange, pink in lavender blues
fading into black
a vision soon of sparkling
starry moon
jasmine flowers to float upon
evening’s scented pond
In sunshine or in shadow how rich the loamy soil
light of earth, dream of rebirth greening
lilac buds and bluebells ring
magenta hills, aubretia spring
of burning fire
A mossy path of violets, soft my feet to wander
muscari blue the garden dew
birds to drink of leafy puddles
bluest skies go grey, drifts so swift a rain cloud by
to water quick the daffodil, silk umbrellas yellow
and comes alas the greening grass
robins hopping, weaving
Spring unfurls in flowery births
tiny violets upon the earth
She was speaking
butterflies floated from her lips
fragile wings
caressed your mind
together, entwined
you flew
fragrant petals were her pillow
a scented garden filled your room
you were dreaming,
roses soft, laid
upon your bed
a morning of golden sun
compassion, salvation
of sacred dawn
they were barren
void of masks
becoming utterly
love
There are moments, sacred places
where the heart dwells beyond words, no language
only silence, brilliance of clarity shines through the vastness of time
connection to the divine, so soon the mind
will flicker and change, thoughts blow away
nothing will remain
Dark, brooding storm swirling overhead
clouds, charcoal black looming
dagger piercing eyes in greyest skies
feathers fly in pelting rains
be not afraid, ’tis but
a losing game
I could only see with dreaming eyes a place so vast within
impossible waters to cross, if only to fly to other side
blue water to turn to ice, and full of joy
I could go skating by, twirling to the sky
when all the meadow flowers would fully bloom
and turn to starry showers
of petals raining
in my room
Oh green I sing, of wings and birds across blue morning sky
with summer sounds, willows round the floating pond
dipping gently by.
Warm winds play music soft
through leaves and reeds, they sing
gathering in the transient breeze.
Under leafy trees of sunlight and shadows
all the day I rest my head
breathe sweet the flowering fields
never shall I leave this place
nor want for any sweeter heaven.
The hills tumbling, daisy stemmed, a floating sea of wild flowers,
white petaled, beaches and waves in rolling summer meadows.
Clouds come, caressing long summer grasses,
blowing sweetly fields, scented warm
before the rain
Thistle crowned flowers cracked, a tiny finch, splitting seeds
swift before the storm, soon flies afar to leafy trees
awaits again the golden summer
of the sun
Over the rooftops, windows and treetops – came sun
summer magenta, morning of skies will come.
Singing in silvery shadows, hummingbird drinking in penstemons
a day dappled in sun and sun, til evening late in brightest moon to light this earthly dome.
All the yesterdays sailing on, beyond the dark and stars.
How fast and far to roam, all the days
that come and come.
Today all the linden trees shrouded in black, no flowers only death, so quiet crept
killing summer bees, that can no longer sing – of honey flowers afield
death crying at the door, their silence praying to be heard
and still unthinking man poisons our fragile world
Pillow, soft nest of dreams, she slept upon
gorgeous birds embroidered flew
across lakes, blue water fields
swells of seas break, calling swans home
willowy winds sigh, whispers, feathers fly
willow tree shadows alight her slumbering walls
as northern summer fades to Fall
this is an older poem. revised
So early in the morning, bluest skies of birdsong
they sang like laughter, singing for summer, the dawn
flying to heaven, making their way toward home
Awakened from dreaming, wings unfolding, reach out for love
early in the morning with the sun.
Waiting, gazing into a silent green lily pond
no words, no secrets, only seeking reflection deep within
early in the morning with the sun.
Days were like honey, even sweeter than golden suns
you were laughing in rainbows – colorfully ever undone
dancing in meadows, and mornings
to bloom again
Your eyes of silver spun light, did shine
flashes of soul, glowing pieces of amber nights
Voices of angels sang you to sleep in peace
Remembering all the places you’ve ever felt love
with letters in boxes you’ve looked upon
Days are just pages, they burn into ashes that blow in the wind
all of these days, where do they
begin and end?
I cannot remember, only I can feel the empty chill of steel
sometimes, colored ghosts of autumn whisper in the shadows
that I follow, to take me far from home
Today with sun or clouds and all the bluest skies
a truth revealed, and I awakened to a madness of lakes and rivers,
spilling over – to flood, a place
within
So swift the night will come, soon to leave this home
darkness winds a long road on
and still the sun will come
From the high cliffs a rugged landscape swept, dropping to the sea
windy clouds, gray rain soaking tiny flowers, waiting for the sun
smokey town so far off, walking farther on
A weathered, rocky place high above this world, climbs a path to stars
with twinkling eyes of sky, where night collides with sea
a traveler, seeking refuge from the shallows
rests her head, soft upon a grassy pillow
A warm wind to caress, sails away the day
drifts quietly her dreams – slipping underwater
where seaweed clings, to pearly rings of sleepy siren’s bells
in echoing shells no darkness dwells
in the heart of forgiveness
When after stars burn out, with glowing dust falling far to earth
colored sparks and charges mingle in the trees
forest faeries come to gather tiny stars
from green summer leaves
With jars of light, they taking flight
little lanterns flitting through the woods
sprinkling starry heavens
Before the dawn they’ve
traveled long, blanketing the forest
now hide from sight they must
their wooded world born anew
sparkling with stardust
In summer, a valley so green, thick in veridian
a pond looking on, sits atop the world – waiting for no one
The sun through an open window, so soon to be gone
hills above, some days ago
covered in whitest snow
A stand of oaks, ringing round in summer leaves of grassy greens
twisty branches quivering light in wind’s of dusky breeze
Beyond this sky of crimson day, far awaits a starry field to bloom
and melts the sun into black
swift before the moon