Mother-of-Pearl

Mother-of-Pearl

Alone is not always lonely.
On sunny days when an impish breeze
Blows soft, sweet kisses against my cheek,
And I can watch the sky
Through canopies of fluttering green.

Why is there then a part of me
That longs to share the glint of light
On rippling water;
To show a kindred spirit kindly scenes
Of grasses swaying in a field;
Or graceful lace of forest ferns
In secret, craggy gullies...

Alone is not always lonely.
Yet there can be this longing-self
That seeks another who will look
Beneath the surface of my outer shell,
Reveling in the iridescent gleam
Of pearly, inner being.
1989



Crystals


There were greencrystal castles
In my childhood dreams,
And dew-drenched forests
Sweet with pine.
I wandered through meadow's of Queen Anne's Lace
To be washed in glistening, golden light.

Why did darker shadows hide the sun?
When did flowered paths turn to jagged stone?
The child was lost.
Yet, on days of fresh, white billowing clouds,
I catch a glimpse of her.
Or when I walk alone at night,
I see her in the moonlit spring.

If only I could bring her back to me...
Then I could sing her hopeful songs
Of windchimes on a summer day,
And dream of crystal castles.
1989



Kite Without A String


When I see the violet, bluesweet, laughing sky,
Dancing
Clouds
And
Branches
Tipped
With
Fuzzy
Buds,

I want to soar with the wind.
Shouting!
Singing!

Holding out my arms to catch the sunlight,
Wash my face deep in its brightness.

I'll laugh with the sky,
There above the blackstained rooftops.
" You'll never catch me!
I
Am
Free
To float on the currents of my joy!"

Rhyming like a giddy child:
"You'll never catch me!
I'm
Off
To
See
What I'll still become,
What I can be."
1989




Someone Like Alice


I told her not to feel again-
To leave that door locked tightly.
Let it go, I said, you know where it will lead.
There's no one there except yourself,
Who can give you what you need.

Still, she touched the doorknob longingly,
It's brass gleamed soft, yet glowing bright.
"Fool!" I cried, "Don't turn it! Don't!
You'll tumble down into the night!"

I watched in helpless sorrow,
As, childlike, she ignored my plea.
I watched as she went through the door,
This someone who is me.

Beware of self-delusions. Watch out for reckless pain!
I saw her hold her arms out, I knew she'd fall again.

Picking up the pieces of her unreality,
That's what I'm always left to do
With this someone who is me.
1991




Peter's Dilemma


How they long to cling to us,
Our illusions dark and bright.
Fantasies of Never Land,
Pixie dust, enchanted light.

Are we pirates strong and bold,
Sailing on a mighty ship?
Or Princess of the Perfect Rose,
Sweet the scent of summer night...

Peter Pan, Wendy Darling,
Tinker Bell and Tiger Lil,
Playing out our fears and joys,
Lost with all the other boys.

Never, never facing up
To the pain of growing up.

Never listening, never still,
Clinging to the fairy tale
That if you do not dare to try,
You never have to fail.

Are we lost because we play at hiding,
Lest we're forced to seek
The steeply winding, rugged path
Where the core of who we are,
Waits for us in naked truth
On a cold and lonely peak.
1991




Walls


When we build walls
Instead of bridges,
Shadows fall upon our soul.
I've tried to find a crack
To let the sunlight
Filter through your self-made wall.
Not to make you weaker,
But to shine in a beam of love and caring
That could give you longed-for warmth.
Can't you use your rugged stones
To build a bridge?
A bridge where both of us can travel.
Sometimes the journey takes us
In the same direction.
There will be days when you may come
And I may go.
Still, we can pass each other
On the way,
And share, I hope, a quiet moment
Upon this bridge that we can build.
Walls keep in.
Walls keep out.
Both are the same,
We're left alone.
They even shut us off, it seems,
From ourselves.
1992




Sunshine Boy


There's some tiny holes down by the creek.
I know what I will do.
I'll take a stick and poke it in
To catch a crawdad, one or two.
Or maybe I'll watch sunfish
And see their scaley silver glisten.
Lying on the creek bank,
I'll be so quiet and just listen
To birds and crickets, rustling leaves,
Bright water rushing over stones.
It's good to be here by myself,
I don't feel one bit alone.
I'll eye a rabbit and he'll eye me,
But he won't have to run,
Because I"m happy lying here
Drifting in the summer sun.
1993



Aunt Rilla's Creek


Julia and I ran down the hill,
Eager to explore the creek.
Shale and shallows,
Darting fish in secret pools,
That catch the sparkle-beams of sunlight
Spilling
Over
Rocky
Ledges.

We bathed in little waterfalls,
Sailed acorn caps on fairy boats
Made of leaves from Sycamores.
Holding hands,
We waded over slippery rocks,
Falling
Down
In watery heaps
Of happy, lively laughter.

Julia and I,
When we were young,
When we were free
And flowing with the water.
1993