Storm Sky

 

Cicada 

buzz

cuts 

through

still

sticky

air

plop

plop

the first

drops

fall

thunder

rumbles

warning

of storms

to come

Sky Beach

 

When I was

a child

we lived

near the sea

Little me

would

run

to meet the waves

darting

like the pipers

that ran beside me

The water

left ripples

in the sand

shaped like

these clouds

My upside down

 sea

in the sky

Sky Garden

 

I carried

the earth

home

to make

a sky garden

and the earth

gave me

green

and the green

gave me

sunshine

in its cells

July Afternoon

 

The trees

sigh

and 

the flowers

sag

There is

a rosy cast

to the

cloudless sky

as if the air

is blushing

from the heat

Caught

 

Something

feels

caught

wedged

under my heart

crowding

my lungs

I can't reach it

Watching

wears me

Only time

might

tear it away

or maybe

gently

wash it

free

Looking

 

Looking for

the metaphor

the weed

that cracked

the pavement

the line

of flying geese

two

by ten

new spruce cone

so green

flower puff

so white

waning moon

hazy sun

What do I see

What do you see

Nature

should not

mean

but

be

Acknowledgement to MacLeish

Harmless

 

Would I

wish away

the clouds

Instead

Why not

erase

every trace

of us

the tame grass

the nonnative trees

the buildings

roofs peeling 

in the sun

Erase me too

Until nothing

is left

but

that which is

harmless

Storm Sky

 

Am I racing

the storm

grumbling softly

to the northwest

or the storm

inside

Is the static

electricity

sending shocks

beneath my skin

in the air

or crackling

across my synapses

Home ahead

of the rain

I look

over my shoulder

something

humming

in the wind

Sky sisters

 

Lady Sun

rising

Face ablaze

tinting

smoky skies

golden

Sister Moon

serene

bows in the West

then slips

away

Sky dreams

 

This blue

a blanket

to wrap

around

anxiety

to bind up

brokenness

to lay out

and sleep

afloat

in a meadow

of wildflowers

and dreams

Resume

 

What if I'm

not drowning

What if

the current

isn't too strong

What if I

stopped fighting

What if I find

the momentary eddy

the mossy rock

What if I rest

then resume

swimming