Monday, March 31, 2014

Other bells

From "Flowers & other pickable weeds"


April 29, 1978

Upon the midnight hour
All the bells are ringing near you
So you cannot hear me
Or know
That I ring only for us,
For all bells
Seem to sound the same
All seem to call your name
But they are not all me,
And yet, how are you to know
Which is me,
And that I ring
Only for you?


Friday, March 28, 2014

Sputtering spring rain



The spring rain arrives here
Like a model T Ford
A sputtering mass
Struggling to climb over
The hilly horizon.
This ancient thing we
Thought vanquished
By the deep chill
Coming with sturdy
Determination to get to
This destination
One long mile after
The next
Out of date by decades
But steadfast in its
Steady pace
Dripping and drooling
Over us with tears of joy
As we bask
If not in sunlight
Then in the hope
Of certain change


Saturday, March 1, 2014

The cure



Warm breath stirs it up
Even in a cold as crisp as this
The thought of its touch
The feel of it around me
Like a moist glove
Of which I can never get enough,
The up and down
And inside out
Aching to fine the right
Finger hole to keep warm in
The breath and width of it
The only cure