Elements
You are
my earth,
the place
I planted
my heart.
Your breath,
my wind,
carried
words of
love
into my
needing
ears.
Your passion,
ignited
my fire,
it consumes
my
skin.
Your touch,
water
to my
parched
skin.
You are
elemental
to my
survival.
Earthen Fantasy
Earthen Fantasy
I walk Bellingham’s Boardwalk frequently
and only once felt fear.
Winter gust so strong
I brace, prepare to grab
a railing or try to fall.
What is permanence?
I think we are
more than specs
twirling in space
on an earthen globe
whirling with the sound
of our dancing planetary partners.
Our center, a ball of flames
warms us to the narrow frequency
of what we call life but would
cremate hope if we got too close.
Bellingham Bay beckons
me to its grey green void
with dark murky innards that
foam with a lust its waves
cannot hide.
A gust, invisible guest
growls and roars.
Yet I am surprised when it
pushes me with such force
that just for a moment I lose
faith in gravity.
And when it’s gone
I quickly forgot
that all that I know
is an earthen fantasy.
The Main Attraction
Just out of time
impossible ampersands
slow down to accommodate
brutalist bearskin mugs
tipping the tray to Friday
rolling on
And HEY
rolling up for a soaking
to see the main attraction
for miles around
fall to its knees
and go to ground.
O Hopeful Dawn
O hopeful dawn what you’ve gifted me
The rain chased sadness to the sea
The sun prods me with smile tenderly
As I dodge demons in dreams darkly
Shining window lures me fast away
I rise with courage to slay the grey
Elementalist
I
contain
the Universe
within.
I am starstuff, the fires of the sun
burn along
every nerve and flash of thought.
With every breath
I steal the air from your chest.
I am rooted to the earth
with each step,
Gaia lives in my hardened bones and teeth.
With every pulse of my heart
the waters of my peoples flow filling my vessel with history and passion/compassion.
Elements dance
among the stars and my being
to the cosmic rhythm.
I am the universe,
the universe aware.
This Morning I Become a Poet
gentle shadows alert me to
darkness of my apartment.
reaching for my new cane,
I hobble to the bathroom,
wash my face, reflect on
early hour eyelids,
step into the kitchen,
fill the blue kettle,
boil water while I
wash last night’s dishes.
I hear noise as the sanitation truck
rolls down eighty-seventh street.
I fill the cup with instant coffee,
carry it haltingly to the table.
opening the shutters, I become
a witness to early drizzle,
along with drip-drip dripping
of second floor neighbor’s air conditioner,
which adds a melancholy
punctuation to my first words.
grey, damp atmosphere is the
one in which I become a poet.
I Wish
Why does love hurt so much?
And make you yearn for just one touch.
I wish he were here with me,
Or just somewhere for me to see.
Love can hurt so bad,
And really makes you sad.
I wish he would appear in my dreams,
Or just be here to stop my screams.
Love can cut you deep like a knife,
And what hell it can bring to your life!
I wish he were still mine,
Or could just give me a sign.
Love can tear your world apart,
Make you feel cheated and not restart.
I wish he could still be here,
Or just would come and ease this fear.
The Big Four
Fire boasted he was so powerful to anyone who would listen
when Wind came along, briefly fueling his ego
yet secretly longing to head in a different direction…
Earth threw himself on the political pair
Killing fire’s force and stomping wind’s whimsy
Water entered the fray,
washing away all hopes of fire’s dreams, wind’s ambition and earth’s strength
Think of the possibilities…
if these four would learn to function as friends instead?
Earth, Wind and Fire
From dust to dust I shall return to earth, imperfect because,
My earthly soul is masked with pretension and sin
In a quick sweep of the wind,
My spirit becomes mellow and meek, flexible and obedient
And when on fire, my body is in hell with sarcastic people surround me.
It soothes my soul when touch by water. It soften my attitude by the quick brush of spring water of baptism, that helps cool me down.
A Leo born, symbolizes the elements of earth, wind, fire and water in all aspect of life.
9:00 means 7:00
skin learns soil
with a naivete of nerve
swirling paths in rich cocoa
stubby fingers, toy cars
skin proceeds to smolder
with no preamble
a blinking look about
a white-hot army of questions
skin knows breath
as the fires slowly diminish
we open our eyes in the street
we flex our claws and build
skin meets tide
in all its fickle glory
fashionably late
two hours early