Moonlight Doesn’t Seem So Far

When every star
sees its reflection in the snow
and the moon pools golden
on Spring’s remembered lawn,
moonlight doesn’t seem
so far at all.

It’s easy to go back
to the beginning when silence
claims the land
and all those swirling snowflakes
have converged into a blanket
of celestial design.

Moonlight doesn’t seem so far
when the nightingale serenades the night,
when winter trees bend beneath their burden
of jewels and lace and in the solitude
of the mournful wind
a whisper

of a voice not forgotten
is mingled with the sigh of pines.
When every star sees its reflection
in the snow and moonlight pools
golden on the lawn,
moonlight doesn’t seem so far at all.

While Snowflakes Fly

Tags

february snowstorm, wildbirds in winter

 

With its eye on the earth
nothing is still
in a snowstorm

I am of a single mind
Six sided things
seem intricate

Snowflakes swirl as if in recital
Each one seems to know its part

More than pomp and circumstance
This storm is serious
as if all the particles of ice have united
to paint the world white

It is not a case of choice
So much for the metaphysical lore
A blizzard can be brutal
For the strong
there is calm after the storm

A hawk and a sparrow
make shadows on the snow
We can only pray
the sparrow is faster.
What were you looking for
Sparrow, that put you
in such a precarious place?

There is suet in the local shrubs
Safety in the branches
Did you think the hawk
would come and take it from you?
Were you saving the suet
for future generations?
What is your excuse
for risking death
to soar?

Snowstorms sometimes do that
They fill your head with dreams
and incredible rhythms
and the music of the snowflakes
gets beneath your wings

But now you know
the air is thin up there
where snowflakes are born

Birdsong echoes
in the upper reaches
of the atmosphere
It becomes a feral cry

Snow falls over all of us
It is the great equalizer
For the moment the storm is over
and everything is beautiful
but  February
has just begun

The river is frozen
and there is ice in the air

Winter is not done with us yet
Snow clouds are gathering
Sweep the snow from the stadium
Build you a bonfire, an igloo
a snow man,  anything
to see us to spring.

On the Other Side of the Window

 

I would like to take a walk
on the path to the orchard,
eat a peach that’s sweet with sun
and on the way back, stop
by the strawberry patch.

 

I’d pick a basket of the sweetest ones
to send to Jean in Wales. I’d like to pause
barefoot on the moss covered lane
to dance with a sunbeam,
but alas 

the orchard is bare. The only strawberries
are sealed in Mason jars or asleep
in the freezer. In the passion of daydreaming
I step outside into January, just another
freeze-dried poet disintegrating
among the snowflakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cat

Tags

cat food, cat lovers, cats

 

On her side, feet curled fetal
This furry apparition
This regal cat

She rules in dreams, an ancient reign
Famous, yet anonymous
born to legendary lines

An artistic arrangement of fur and bone
and attitude
She will let you know
if she needs you

 

Keeping Winter at Bay

Tags

smzang poetry

 

Baroque philosopher
master of three minds
or more

What theory will you sell today?
I am not sure which I prefer
or even if I know

who you think you are
But I will listen
with rapt attention

because it’s winter
and you keep the icicles
from my window

An Argument Against Wordiness

Tags

Clarissa, longest novels, Samuel Richardson

 

On a new year’s eve many years ago
I resolved with great sincerity
to read Clarissa, not because it was
one of the longest novels ever written
but because I thought she represented
what I should be.

Strong in character and independent,
she struggled against the bonds that others
would impose.  Compelled by inner angels
to a life of chastity, she suffered for her morality
and eventually it was the death of her, but
she never caved.

She maintained her standards and in so doing
taught without intention others who were less
inclined to probity. At her demise,  so many lives
were touched in ways no living creed could
so cement. It was truly my intention to read
 the whole book in hope I might attain her spirituality,

but the task was just too great for me.  It is not
that I didn’t sincerely want to be that good,  it was
just that when I saw the book consisted of a million
words,  I knew I lacked the fortitude to read them each
responsibly.  Lacking even that, I rather doubt
I could ever hope to match her virtuosity.

Sport Fishing

Tags

sport fishing

Caught by an alien fish
she flop-flipped
on the pebbled beach
Every landing

made a new bruise
After looking her over
he wished she’d never
taken the bait

but
the hook
was so firmly set
he couldn’t remove it

Still
it made him feel good
to cut the line
and throw her back

Not exactly magnanimous
After all, it was a big ocean
and she had neither gills
nor fins.