Poetry: July 2009 Archives

“Who binds unto himself a joy

Doth the winged life destroy…”

Where bumblebee makes love to purple bee balm

And blanketflowers toss their leonine manes,

 Nodding onion weeps and wild rose blooms

Where ponderosa pines cast fragrant shade,

Where Flatirons lick the sky like great rock flames

Where tallgrass waves head high to me,

 Shoulder high to you,

Where warbler chirps and pewee cries by stream,

Where smooth black chokecherries burst upon the palate

Tickling it in unexpected ways,

Where sticky geranium calls to us

To kiss the joy as it flies,

There I will walk with you, my love,

In eternity’s sunrise.

Ma’s Song

I do not make my abode

On the lofty mountain peaks

For the way of ice and snow

Is not my way.

I have pitched my tent beside you, friend,

In the valley of human experience.

Bring me your tender joys

And I will feed them corn

From my own hands

And take delight as they chirp beside my door.

Give me your mewing sorrows;

I will cradle and stroke them lovingly,

For they are mine.

I hang your tears

As prayer flags in the breeze,

I wear your smiles,

A garland on my breast.

Let me iron the creases of perplexity

And sweep the dust of confusion from your heart.

I will untie your heavy boots of weariness

And worship them on the altar of our longing.

 I pour myself into your thirsty cup,

Offer my grief as ointment for your wounds.

The ringing of your laughter and your cries

Has called me to this holy pilgrimage.

I have come to you from the lofty mountain peaks

For the way of ice and snow is not my way.