Day's Ends

A fragment of birdsong outside

greeted the sunny morning.

I opened the curtains. Change,

and a day of fine grey rain

moving slowly to cold night.

l close the blinds and curtains.

Outside, a fragment of birdsong.

Elfje Variant

Oh!

winter flowers

pink and white

like delicate Spring blossoms —

frangipanni.

Effective

A rainbow pennant flies

from the corner of the street

marking the entrance to town.

'Peace and pennants', she wished us,

joking (not 'peace and pennance').

And there on the café sign behind it

a painted lotus blossoms, its petals

open to the light ... a symbol of peace.

She does good wishing, that woman!

Elfje

orange

sudden blooms

on the vine

over my back fence

prolific

Having just discovered the Dutch form, elfje, had to have a go! For more information: http://simplyelfje.wordpress.com/

Visible Sound

The wooden elephant

carved and painted

in lines of gold on black

is exaggeratedly narrow 

from chest to tail.

The legs are impossibly

tall and straight.

The head's thrown back,

ears falling long, and the trunk

raised high to the sky.

'I can hear him trumpeting,'

Andrew says. I look

and yes, the sound

is clarion. 'How joyous,'

I add, 'How triumphant!'

Tree Poems

Moving in the Breeze

I'm not the first to see

that the trees' bare branches

are like slender arms —

but I see this

as if for the first time 

now.

*******

Anchor

One old, thick trunk

among the more recent

and more delicate ...

from its solid width

the lowest boughs

extend like wings —

strong wings

of guardian angels.

The roots are spreading as far

as the tips of the topmost leaves.

Oasis

I enrolled in the Writing and Spiritual Practice course because I want an oasis, a space only for me. Late at night, I read the first questions and exercises. After awhile I notice I am sucking my thumb. I did that when I was a child. It gave me self-comfort and deep contentment.

Frog on the Pane

The window-frog

half the length of my thumb

has a pale underside

and littlle green toe-pads 

like pin-heads.

(Written 28 Nov. 2011 and just rediscovered.)

The Sound

... the sound of the rain outside

like loud whispers, gradually 

surrounding the house ...