| Bind Up My Life A Work in Progress Page 9 |
| The Beach Yesterday we walked the beach Hard to believe in that in a few short months It will be choked with bodies Vying for the rays of RA Now cold and empty The sand remembers my footprints well And that of the big black dog And the little boy Picking up the skeletons of mussels Pearly husks of once was The wind nips at us and freezes our ears The big black dog runs unfettered No leashes no calls to heel With a silent grin as only dog�s have He stops only to sniff the strange scents of tide Here, there, no here~ Then finds the spot to mark his own And the boy laden with booty finds a stick The perfect walking stick for a boy And we walk that length of beach Watching the boats bobbing in their little temples Waiting for the celebration of Spring The tide brews a brownish foam at the shore Root Beer froth it seems to us I look at the shoreline Green fir against golden grasses Still shivering with the frosts Long and elegant in the wind Graceful waltz of textures To the wind�s mournful melodies It�s too cold to build sand castles today And we accept an admiration of footsteps Instead His and mine on the beach With the big black dog. |
| HOMEWARD Another season is waning Another flickering in anticipation. I embrace it, Here in this wood, As I did in another wood a year ago. There, it is already green and growing; Here, all is still vague memory; Fitful sleep and restless dreams Of the coming. There are only green brambles And green ferns sprouting from the ground. Overhead an eagle, Splay-winged from a harsh winter. He skims the trees Searching�.Seeing. And below, The big black dog and I walk on�. Down, down, down we go To the bottom of the hollow, And to the cooling stream. Above us, a limestone effacement Gouged by the seasons Forming a smooth tunnel of rock. Ice still lingers there, Waiting for the rapture of rays~ The holy transformation. We follow the stream, Then we move upward Rising in a winding wander, Following the white diamond markings Showing us the way. A shadow of eagle passes; The splay-winged centennial Marking us with piercing eye. We pause and salute him, Then onward and upward To the ridge of the bowl. We pass trees that failed At the clinging To the limestone bedrock. We admire the tall survivors Standing tall and slender As is the ancient forest. On the rim, we find a pool The big black dog leaps At the chance of the cool wet To a tired dry body. And the inevitable chilly shake Upon exit And then, As if life could be no better, A blue bird No not a dull blue Jay Brilliant neon creature Out of the blue against the gray-brown An answer to a prayer? A good omen of life to be? Off he goes as we round the bend Homeward�.. Yes, sweet pup, We�ve found our home. |
| Be Silent Be silent my love Be silent And listen to the wind Within its roar You will hear a heart Beating Measure for measure Constant and true Beating Be silent my love And listen That heart is beating For you |
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