Final Poems
my final edits
That I may be Understood
They asked me what was wrong
why I was distraught
and I realized I missed you
I missed the way our souls intertwine
the way your presence reflects all that is whole
so I have set out in search of you
that I may be understood
I will travel to lands shuttered in darkness
and through the labyrinth of clouds
that rings with birdsong
that I may see a whisper of your presence
And then I will learn to breath on nothing
so that I may journey through space to find you
I will learn to travel at such speeds that I may stand at the abyss
where stars end — only darkness remains
I will search among planets, stars, moons
I will search the craters for a tendril of your presence
look among the asteroids for a footprint that will lead to you
I will survive the hottest depths of infinite suns
that I may find you at their center
If that fails I will journey back
I will shrink down and roam among the ants
follow their paths to explore the depths of their hills
Then I will go further
down among the grains of earth and search beneath each grain
I will search through their atoms
looking for a fingerprint on an electron
Deeper still I will go, to the quantum level
which none but God understands
Then I will journey within myself,
in hopes to find you waiting
Swim through bloodstreams
climb aboard rafts of blood cells
plunge into cytoplasm
climb the ladders of DNA
If you are not there I will journey to the paths of zapping thought
try to glimpse you in the firing of a neuron
I will search from the farthest star
to the earth’s very core
from the tiniest cells
to the most minuscule of particles
Till I find myself with you once more
Paper Memories
Paper crane
sitting calmly
carrying breezes made of pine and earth
half-filled mugs
hot chocolate smiles
stories told, some more than once
fire dancing,
crackling softly
like an old radio
paper on table, folded neatly
again and again
till it becomes something more
Paper crane
sitting regally
carrying breezes made of memory
Haikus- Echoes of Light
fog shrouded swings
echoes of laughter
yellow police tape
lamplighter
touching the stars
with a piece of the sun
the maid comes in
pulling back the darkness
and calling forth the light
Torch Lilies
Torch lilies bending in the breeze
twisting together
pulling apart
like some strange ritualistic dance.
Yet there I stood enveloped
in moonlight with ivy crawling higher
cinching tight around my throat
keeping me from calling out
From turning away
from beast made of heat and light
that stood clawing the air
roaring its hunger
Sending up dark plumes
and filling the air
with its breath
A messenger carrying Prometheus’s torch
hissing that all things
are bound to ruinous fate
And all the while
the torch lilies danced on.
To Give
To give is to breath in,
To receive is to breath out.
To give is to prepare a dish,
To share pozole from my pot.
To give is to dig a well,
To pass on a jar that will never run out.
Giving is one small lunch,
Turned into a feast.
Giving is throwing seeds
Not knowing how they are received.
Giving is sharing with the prodigal,
Knowing your gift may be wasted.
We give, to be okay with that.
