Poem for Today

Believe Me


Believe me,
That when you are alone,
And careening and bouncing near the edges,
Sliding on ice towards the hard stop,
Then. - Even the birds are your friends.


The little ones I mean.
The chirping brown sparrows, 
Also, the dopey dragonflys,
And the flirtful and purposeful bees,
Of course, the bumbly, and big furry ones, too.


They become your everything.
Seeming divine to you,
You wonder how to worship them,
Begging for the solace of their quick glance,
Or accidental pause.


But, it is only in their indifference,
That they offer comfort.
It is then that you remember that you are nothing.


Jan and Feb 2011

Poem for Today

Power of Give and Take Away


Claim me with your eyes,
Needing your voice in the dark.


But you don't realize,
How your calls drive me to you,
Making my mind crawl over thorns and rocks,
Bringing me to you, 
Dragging my limbs,
To the only tree in this white desert.


I used to think that your power was over me,
Now I know that you punish yourself too.

By hurting me,
You need the edges to push away your pain,
Just as much as I do.


Jan 2011

Poem for Today

Pain

I seek for immediate pain,

To drive you from me,

The cutting weight on my shoulders,

The straps,

The bumping of nylon and alloy,

Never quite getting the load on my back comfortable.

But it always ends,

After moments, or hours,

There only remains that dragging fatigue,

A sort of soft and bitter taste. Lingering.

Flavoring my thoughts like the bitter rind of pistachios.

The tiredness keeps you away,

But it is also temporary.

March 2011

Poem for Today

I saw a small Bedouin girl playing in the ruins near here a few weeks ago...

Child

Desert dry hair,

Blown and twisted with sand and dry sun,

Carved into light and dark.

Playing in Roman ruins,

Ancient dust of heroes,

It's all over your tiny brown feet.

With open eyes, light and quick-gleaming,

Sparkling, even though there is nothing in your hands,

Nothing in your belly,

You roll in the grass.

With this nothing, you have captured me.

The wildness of your play,

Spiralling through the old broken columns.

You're the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,

And I ache for my lover to join me,

So we can make another like you.

march 2011