Harmony, Two Cats, Two Vases

 

Harmony sang a balm

For sins however adolescently

Committed as orange light bathed a room.

It sang of my green eyes—I’m sure that’s why

You loved that song, but the light

Extinguished;

Enchantment fled.  Was my hair not

Golden enough?  You didn’t want

To share two cats in the yard

That we would call 

 Ours? Would life

Have been so

Hard?  No

Pentagrams

I drew ever

Brought

You

Back

To

Me

(except for just one minute).

 

The flowers wilted in the vase

Yesterday,

But I bought a new one today.

 

 

15 August 2012

 

 

 

 



The Black Friday Before Christmas

 

I woke up at 5:00,

hopped up out of bed:

Most unlike me, I admit...

always loll an hour instead...

jumped into my jeans, 

my black shirt and shawl--

then upset my style

with white tennies for the mall.

No time for coffee:  Diet Coke had to do--

along with the tranq, so no problems would ensue...

hopped into the car with daughter at the wheel:

Her coupons and plans were making her reel:

"Where's Kohl's?" she inquired.

"I don't know," I replied.

"You live here; I don't," she came back,

so I thought and I tried

to picture the store where I'd just seen it last,

and, lo and behold, the great Kohl's had held fast

on Loop 12 at Skillman--with Target next door;

nothing could be easier when shopping for more.

The crowd: It was lulling post the madness of 3:00.

Most were at coffee or a donut reprieve.

We bought toys galore--and I want to keep them,

but I'll wrap them up brightly

With bows meant to hide them:

A Pink V-Dub with Barbie and trucks that make noise,

pajamas and books for the girls and the boys,

DVDs for my Laura, a little something for my man.

When I realized I'd had all the fun I could stand,

we came home for breakfast with

hot chocolate to mend--

and to top it all off, a little whipped cream!

Laura has recharged,

and I sit here and wonder, "Was all that a dream?"

Now she's whisked off

to shop with her cousin and aunt,

but I'm opting to sit with the fire, dogs, and cat.

 

26 November 2010

A Hero Rides Away

A choreography of a higher power,
A documentary of love, will remain in the blinded minds
And heavy hearts—a mystery
Of falling golden leaves, twirling through blue omnipotence
Down to the earth to rest at the limited feet
Which later trudge to watch the fallen hero
Lie still at last—after he takes his final ride.
Tears streak and imprison stricken faces
Yet liberate for a while the pent-up
Anguish felt not only for today’s hero
But for the heroes gone away during
Their yesterdays.
Accumulation of love and fear and
Misunderstanding and acceptance
And loss bind neighbors and strangers
As one with just a glimpse of Heaven
As they try to save the moment
Yet wish they could forget this elimination,
Forget this presence of tragedy.
Young men with faces dappling red cry and
Struggle with carrying
The weight of one who will never hold
Such gravity in their lives again.
They become little boys again:
With such metamorphoses, why cannot they also summon their hero
To ride next to them again
Rather than be borne by the amassed strength
That they have gained under his guidance?
The blue and golden day bears
The sorrowful and laden hearts for the wife, the neighbors, the strangers,
The mothers, the fathers, the sisters, the brothers,
The sons, the daughters—and those boys— who
Cannot bear to carry them with their
Own endurance because knowledge of
How to endure escapes them.
Yet they do not need command of this mystery today:
The beautiful day holds and caresses them
As it sways them in the cradle of
The lightness of the breeze
Which causes the leaves to fall.

9 November 2012