Minnesota Gathering

Perched among

bare maples

a colorful cacophony

of tropical birds

gathers;

strange clash

of ecosystems

Inspired by Minnesota Gathering, Bruce Munro, 2016

http://www.brucemunro.co.uk/installations/minnesota-gathering/

December 29, 2016

Winter’s
dry garden
white snow sand
raked by wind
frozen ripples
encircle
rock islands;
the zen
of below zero

Relative (12/28/16)

The camera’s eye

sees

more light

than

the human eye;

remember:

there is always

more light

than 

we believe

we see

Leftovers

Amid
a flurry of snow
scattered
by icy wind
Fall’s fruit
lingers;
a dying flame

Christmas Eve Morn

Nature
wields
her finest brush
to draw out
hoarfrost
in sharp
stars

Predawn Meeting

Sister Moon
smiles
on bright
Jupiter
and blue
Spica

Illusory

Lady Sun
warms the eyes
even while Winter
batters
all other senses

Dusk

December afternoon’s

only warmth

is 

an illusion:

pale reflected fire

of Lady Sun’s

retreat

Full Cold Moon*

Sister moon
compels my eye
with her
serene
silver
symmetry









*According to The Old Farmer's Almanac, the Native American name for the December full moon

Winter's return

The bitter wind

has ceased

its howling

flakes float

free

and feathery

instead

of being driven

sideways;

maybe soon

a blanket

of white

to brighten

the brutal cold

Still cloudy

Somewhere

not here

sun is streaming 

from blue sky

Burdens

Sullen clouds
brood
over evening
heavy
with rain
and ill omens;
my troubled mind
burdens
my heart
with worry
and darkness

Suspense (11/16)

Seasons

suspended

in fog

between

autumn

winter

spring

dawn and

day

night and

now

wish

worry and

when;

the illusion is

you

are standing still

for

the solid earth

beneath your feet

is 

moving

spinning

closer

to dark

to winter

to change

Fantastic landscape

Dawn

snow

transforms

familiar paths

into

an ancient

forest

illuminated in

mysterious

primeval

blue 

Cold Rain

Car wheels
rushing
in rain;
stormy waves
breaking
at double
speed

Anthropomorphism

Lady Sun

nestles beneath

a cloud comforter

of lavender

and flame,

hugging close

a few moments

more

of warmth

before emerging

to Winter’s

icy

brittle day

Accumulation

A single

flake

withers

in my cupped palm;

a storm’s worth

blots out

the sky

November returns

Evening
comes early
clothed in veils
of faded blue daylight
and soft gray
twilight

November?

Another season’s

journey

to day’s end

where squirrels

tussle hidden

in dry leaves

making winter preparations

into play;

my heart

which should be

arming itself

against

the cold’s approach

has let down its guard

perhaps 

too easily

to the false promise

of this mild evening

out of time

Super Moon

Looming large 

above

the ordinary shape

of the horizon

not new

but nearer

rare

so more real

or is it only relative?

Shadows

Autumn’s 
shadows
stretch
longer
and leaner;
bare branches
and stripped down
heartstrings
plucked 
by chill winds
and the grief
of what is lost
and what
lingers

Disturb the universe

51 years

even

before I could

read

I have been one

who follows directions

remains in line

hesitates

to choose my own way

when the sign says

stay on the path.

Can I

will I

dare

to step away

from the trail

move opposite

the arrow’s point

break the 

brittle white

of pristine snow

leaving footprints

as evidence of my

rebellion?

Acknowledgement

October 10, 2016: Eyes open again

Evening’s

fragile palette

of tender pink

fading

to lavender

and smudged gray

gently

draws me out

of my blind

preoccupations

and into

contemplation

of the potential miracle

of night’s 

renewal

October 1, 2016

Almost hidden

high in the clouds

the sun traces

a rainbow

broken

by blue sky

Sept. 25, 2016: Willing a metamorphosis out of the ordinary

Wind rattles

the blinds

that dissect

nature

into meager parses

of leaf

cloud

birds winging free;

scoring my heart

with longing

for space

time

and green

September 22, 2016

Momentary

glimpse of blue;

unexpected smile

in a crowd

of hurried

indifferent

faces

Sept. 20, 2016

Stormy ocean
of cloud
breaking
against
a faded
blue shore
of sky

September 18, 2016

Early morning clouds
dabbed with
gray pearl
and echoes
of pink dawn;
painted by
a dreamer’s 
hand

Cloudless

Blue
bold
and open;
a blank page
to write
my dreams of
oceans

Sept. 13, 2016

Lady’s Sun’s

delicate

fingers

part the clouds

and touch

evening

with light

Sept. 8, 2016: "The world is too much with us"

Invisible wall

barricades me

from beauty

and peace

more than

window glass

or walls:

the heft

of everything

not beauty

not peace

What does the title of this post mean?

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/45564

Sept. 7, 2016: Break

Day’s 
lurking threat
of rain
dissolves
into
melting
clouds
of evening

Sept. 6, 2016: Gloomy

All day
Lady Sun
battles
clouds’ confines
breaking free
only
momentarily

September 5, 2016

Early on

its journey

lone leaf

rusty crimson;

harbinger

of autumn

September 1, 2016

Stepping stone

clouds

set

in a river

of blue;

my mind

wanders

west

to sunset

August 31, 2016

Ghosts
of cloud
and fog
haunt
the dawn

August 30, 2016: Yesterday evening

Evening

layers

cloud kingdoms

of

storm

shower

and sky

August 29, 2016: Resuming

A burning raft
of fiery cloud
floats
in a serene sea
of blue dawn

August 16, 2016

Afternoon

heaves up

a spontaneous

mountain range

of cloud

as solid

as the Rockies

as impermanent

as quickly fading

summer

August 13, 2016: Before at Eaux Claires

Cloud vision
of a blue
summer’s day

erased
by grief
time
or
inattention

to be redrawn
by the perfect
or perfectly deceptive
brush of memory

Written at the Eaux Claires Festival in response to Gregory Euclide’s interactive piece: With Our

There Being The White Side of Here

August 11, 2016

The camera’s eye

cannot capture

the gradual blush

of sunset’s reflection

when the shadows

momentarily lighten

before twilight 

returns

to enfold

evening

in dim purple

8/9/16: Front

Moody gray
and
gathering
the face
of the sky
transforming
change
in the weather?

8/8/16: Clouds again

Luxurious rafts

of satin clouds

gently drift

above lacy reefs

of cloud coral

in an upside down

ocean

of fathomless

blue