Friday, January 25, 2013

[I sew . . .]

I sew
a little red satin heart
for the Tin Man
somewhere inside me
it begins to beat


red lights 9:1,  Jan. 2013



Monday, January 21, 2013

[I sleep . . .]

I sleep
with her cradled
in my arms
this dark animal
we call sorrow


Notes from the Gean 15,  Jan 2013



Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Sky Moving

I hold you
on my lap, close to my heart—
explaining
your brain scan
the doctor looks away

at last
you stand and walk
lopsided
seizing with one hand
both thorns and flowers

driving miles
out of my way
to bump over train tracks
I follow the power lines
of your first obsessions

rain blots
the edges of your fear
as trees topple . . .
el derecho storms
giving your mind a spin

that wizard
behind the curtain
had real power—
your enchantment with tornadoes
an unbreakable spell

you write the wind
a poem on fluttering paper:
sky moving
blow windy just Earth
thunderstorms rainstrong

too many
syllables for a poem—
the names
they give the tempests
raging in your brain

gazing
at dark sky you ask
if that bright
steady star is Jupiter—
love its never-ending  storm


LYNX  28:1, February 2013

This poem is a tribute to my son, Evan, whose many, many challenges have enriched my life for thirty years, taking me on a never-ending, whirlwind journey through a land as different as Oz.



Monday, January 14, 2013

[standing stones . . .]

who put them here
these standing stones
balanced en pointe
            marking the way
            through the sleeping wood

Atlas Poetica  12, summer 2012



Friday, January 11, 2013

[wild ducks . . .]

wild ducks
pass over the water
like shadows
leaving only streaks of light
. . .  I refold your letter


Moonbathing 7, fall/winter 2012

A letter written nearly seventy years ago--its reader & writer both long gone, leaving only streaks of light.


Friday, January 4, 2013

[bootsoles . . .]

bootsoles
clapping together
another snowstorm


Magnapoets 7, Jan. 2011




Tuesday, January 1, 2013

[in the new year . . .]

in the new year
can I shed this too-tight skin,
endure
the days of clouded sight
until my eyes grow clear?


first published in Eucalypt electronic challenge Year of the Snake 2013