FIVE POEMS
Ringtail (for Paul)
the blasted canopy of the trees
where the worm weevil had his way
and the leaves topple from ragged wood
and the sun spills down but not in friendship
here the miner’s cat will rest
tucked into a crook licking paws
watching us running, always running
towards gold, towards graves
I will make one thing today, said the boy
wandering beneath the pockmarked shade
I will twist hair into braids, put words to melody,
I will cut the shape of a deer from a yellowed leaf
and the devil ran, and was afraid
from afar guided clouds to still the impulse
the eyes of the miner’s cat lit up in the gloom
reflecting angels descending in fury
Messages
when urgent messages
arrive from the North
in crip envelopes
that melt snow
come and receive
these songs
are not meant to frighten
but take your weight so
you may walk straight and easy
each day you wake
so first gently, then
with force tear open
find the pages, the ink that sings
stories of your better angels
aching to bring you home
Now I See
bring baskets
of bountiful harvest
the figs smell like rain
your hair, tangled in the pears
where the squirrel runs
head down, the cedar
holds her with its
oil bark
cups full
of snowmelt
shivers the tongue
ices the teeth
the stained glass
has been darkened by clouds
sunlight, once yellow
weakens to brown
but now I see
the lines in His palms
as he kneels
before the lamb
the sky
pours through the sky
and we are deep
in that mercy
Mercy
but could you?
masses bearing down on you
kings washing their hands
of the damage
about to be done
could you stand
chest raised
eyes unblinking
terror of hatred and death
gathered and growing
say yes I believe
the night wind coming
the crosses
lashed and moving
towards you now
could you say
this is Him
the one and only
I will go
where He goes
for death is better
than silence
as you truss him up
my voice fails,
I fall back
into the merciless crowds
the shocked children
who have never seen
their parents
like this before
But Now
bringing music down
from you, I
first ascend through the breaking
of the day
and spend some time as we
work a melody
shape words until they sing with
holy resonance
then tiptoe to the edge of a
moving cloud
dive head-first back into this
chaos of brambles
we must walk each day, but now
with a song
