I had written my own poem earlier in the week, but since the anniversary of 9/11 is on a Saturday, I also consulted the Oracle. We are both feeling the shadows and the ache.
ghosted, these
ruins—shadows left
imprinted
on this day–
each returning resurrects
the ache of absence
beneath blue skies
death shows up
raining red
the day lives raw
our dreams ache
with rust and blood
language is shadowed
as if love
will never be recalled
music whispers
on the wind
through still light
More questions from the Oracle.
stars awake fireborn
breathing vast ferocious joy
into dazzled dark
where is the door of always?
who parses the voice of time?
After I post my birds on memadtwo tomorrow, I’m taking a break from the internet for a few weeks. Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Another mostly sleepless night. But the Oracle sees beauty in those hours too. And how else would I have seen the sliver of the moon?
And look closely on the right–there’s Saturn too.
who is this self
sailing slowly through the dark
always away
blue with haunted oceans
flying from the ghosts of time
breathless as the dance
of skyholes
lingering in starfire
awakening the open eyes
of this goodnight
Where there’s life, there hope–
your tiny hand is full of promise,
growing into luminescence,
reaching out, moving towards light.
Your tiny hand is full of promise–
it opens like the sky,
reaching out, moving towards light
like a flower awakening.
It opens like the sky,
complete and infinite–
like a flower awakening,
dancing with the wind.
Complete and infinite,
you sparkle the darkness–
dancing with the wind
like a trail of stars.
You sparkle the darkness–
a mirror, a pathway
like a trail of stars–
everything all at once.
A mirror, a pathway
growing into luminescence–
everything all at once–
where there’s life, there’s hope.
Merril at dVerse asks us to write a poem incorporating a proverb.
where there’s life, there’s hope
“Ecosystems are so similar to human societies—they’re built on relationships. The stronger they are, the more resilient the system.”—Suzanne Simard, Finding the Mother Tree
we keep dividing
designating
a hierarchy
to pull what we share
apart
and so each
of us is missing
parts
each of us is
incomplete
why do we cling
to our separation
our isolation
who we think we are
alone?
the foundation
is faltering
and still
we hold
on
collapsing
into
the deep
hole
of ourselves
During a presentation Suzanne Simard made, early in her career, about her research into the interrelationships between trees and other species in the forest, and how all were necessary in order for the forest to thrive, she mentioned also the threat to climate from disrupting these systems. “Climate change means nothing in Canada” one of the audience said afterwards.
For earthweal.
The Oracle got a makeover from MagneticPoetry.com. It’s going to take getting used to. I used the new “happiness” category. I can use some, after reading the news this morning.
When I saw the Oracle’s message, I immediately thought of Sun Ra, an artist of living, not just music, that my older brother introduced me to when we were teenagers. “Space is the Place” was a title he used for many different pieces of art.
I had titled these birdling collages from my archives “birdlings in space”. The birdlings make me happy no matter where they are.
where is wonder?
make time for space
alive with possibility–
between comes whispering–
soon surprise will follow
finding myself
I open the cages
I travel on paths
where I once was we
I open the cages
calm and unafraid
where I once was we
everything begins again
calm and unafraid
as intersected species
everything begins again
inside and out
as intersected species
abiding in before and after
inside and out
following life’s tides
abiding in before and after
I travel on paths
following life’s tides
finding myself
Sherry posted at earthweal this week about Jane Goodall and how her work with chimpanzees led her to start “Roots and Shoots, her program, now 30 years old, that inspires young people to plant trees and care for the areas in which they live”.
I knew I had posted before about chimpanzees as part of my endangered species series on methodtwomadness. When I went back and looked, I found that I had also talked then about Jane Goodall and her work.
Chimpanzees are our closest genetic relative. Of course we still have plenty of work to do learning to treat other humans with respect. We can start by opening the cage doors.
My first pantoum of the week–there will be more.
I recently took the collage above out of the storage room and hung it in my new apartment. It’s based on a painting, Freedom, by Ilya Repin, that Jane Dougherty used back when she was doing writing prompts, and that both she and Merril have returned to numerous times. I liked it so much I did two collages based on it.
I didn’t start out with this idea at all, but as soon as the Oracle pointed to ferocious dancing in the wordlist the entire poem began to reference Repin’s painting. It’s a wonderful painting, full of beautiful messages.
I’m quite sure she isn’t finished sending me back to it either.
laughter’s breath
kisses like star-sky
here is a rhythm
to embrace
ask the ocean
for the secrets of sailing
airborn
surrounded by voices
that dazzle open magic
windows of ferocious dancing
into a universe
without time
You can see the original posts for each of my above collages here and here.
My poem, auguries, based on the painting Us, by Ismael Nery, is posted today on The Ekphrastic Review.
You can read the poem here.
My thanks once again to editor Lorette C. Luzajic for supporting my work and the interaction between the visual and written arts.
