poetry

Reflection

 

Because your father and the Korean War

treated you mercilessly

you swallowed the hate, anger and resentment

with tiny grains of rice and near-clear broth

 

You read books and taught yourself

math – the universal language

you patched holes in your shoes and clothes

sewed extra material to your pant legs

 

With marriage and children, hunger multiplied

your craving for recognition and love

were bottomless pits of self-doubt

and utter darkness

 

You lashed out and your fears

masqueraded as control and power

launched your family away

but your heart cried

come back

 

 

Body as Water

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Mrjn

I ran across this poem and it spoke to my heart:

 

Nearly

Idra Novey

When we slid out of the lane.

When my sleeve caught fire.

While we fought in the snow.

While the oncologist spoke.

Before the oil spilled.

Before your retina bled.

Beyond the kids at the curb.

Beyond the turn to the forest.

After the forest turned to ashes.

After you escorted my mother out.

As I led your father in.

As the dolphin swam the derelict canal.

While the cameras filmed it dying.

While the blackout continued.

When the plane dipped.

When the bank closed.

While the water.

While the water.

And we drank it.

Melt Into the Sun

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Goerend

“For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.”

 

From Kahlil Gibran’s “On Death”

Interval

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Dulcey Lima

Spring – the jumping off time

of green buds and birds’ trill

of thriving and spreading

when souls vault with thrill

 

Summer – enlivened bustle

of limitless affection

of prime corporeality

when spirits rouge the complexion

 

Autumn – abated season

of settling gratitude

of tranquil sanctuary

when ego battles disquietude

 

Winter – gradual repose

of profound cogitation

of  placid acceptance

when the form meets salvation