February 29, 2012

The Scent of Spring




Is it the wild meadow grass after a rain
Is it the sun’s warming light, or melting snow
 Or stark terrain

Is it February longing to sing
Buds waiting to open
Birds on the wing

Flowers and rain, or warm air lifting
Or softness of night
A natures gifting

Maybe a hum to a prairie’s reverie
A breeze on a sail
A nest in a tree

An awakening step across the lawn
A nudge to a leaf
And then Earth yawned

Earth did say,I smell spring in the air”.
I wondered if this was just a crazy wild hair
I lifted my chin, closed my eyes and took a whiff
I’m not sure what I smelled, with that little old sniff
So, I took a deep breath, inhaled through my nose
But started to sneeze, and the smell curled my toes
Was this Spring I did smell?
I just couldn’t tell
Or was it the neighbor’s cow
Pooping at the plow




February 22, 2012

Hold My Hand


     I see you in the morning, with your tired eyes trying to hide what is necessary to shield me from you.  I see you struggle through the day, the step in your walk, the slowing down, the halting pace, the shuffle, and the little stumble as you fall against me.

I loved you once
I will love you again
And again

     Life doesn’t announce the next step, it doesn’t announce a warning, it doesn’t predict, it doesn’t solicit, it’s simply there, and there alone we pick the pace, the step, the forward motion that leads us to a hand, a hand that holds the promise of keeping us safe, keeping us secure in a love that has no conditions, no boundaries, no expectations.

We hold a hand and simply know
I will love you
Always


February 5, 2012

In The Shadow


Photograph by Kathleen Sara Shattuck


The shadow stretched the length of the room, in reply to my voice.

No matter what I do, no matter where I am, no matter who I am, I think of you when I write my words...there is no answer to my question, why, there never has been, and there never will be.  A hidden place that stays away, away from prying eyes, and only you and I can see that place, but, only you can release me from my self.
I search for landscapes, true revelations of verdant green within the barrenness of desert rock, showing me the clear, coolness at water’s edge, waiting for me to sip of streams that may never exist.
I tremble in the wake of dawn, and exhale in the evening breeze.  I nod to the day's awakening spirit, the day of reckoning, the day of possibilities that I may see into your soul.

The dark shadow twisted and turned.  A yawn engulfs the corners of the room, satiated by stillness; it moves closer, to be seen in a glimmer, and then a quiet hush exudes a knowing confidence.
 
Away from the lies that were concealed
Listen and hear the harsh realties
Now soon to be truths revealed
life’s destined casualties