Friday, June 19, 2009

reoccurring

I keep thinking about trains
and the shawls over the women
who ride in them.

The steam rises through the fog
and the iron tracks below
chant a hymn of Exodus.

There are memories of the shtetl
the stone well in the heart of the village
the cool air rising from the deep to the surface.

There are murmurs over muted commotion
but the women's words are veiled
and I can't speak their language-
Not anymore.

The rhymes and rhythms of klezmorim
cannot leave and echo through dreams.
And if not for Jewish guilt,
a hungry ghost today.

Monday, May 4, 2009

planter

The humid air brings me down
to the soil over seeds,
six mounds across the garden,
shaped with infant hands,
the dirt still dark
from the waking
of its slumber.

With a spade
dug deep into the earth,
lines of ants
are led to lions' lairs,
marching a futile dirge,
feeding worlds larger than theirs.

A gust from above scatters them,
and some cling to me,
helpless.

As weeks fertilize
the fruits of labor,
the earth is worked,
and I will feel
the sweet nectar of harvest
as it falls from my lips
and travels down my neck.

And as the buzzard overhead watches,
the husk of the season
is laid bare,
its treasure full,
its spoil
reaped.

beach

The tide comes in,
waves against shore,
the rocks bearing down,
driving into shifting sand.

The seasons go,
waves against shore,
the rocks breakign down,
changing under driving pressure.

The air is thick,
the shore is clear,
between the crags,
nothing but shifting sand.

It took a lifetime
to change,
and we can't go back.

draoithe

The chill of early spring mist
caresses the great oak
and draws me to your branches,
reaching out,
out of reach.

Too dark to see
but for your love,
a waxing crescent,
it warms me
from my roots
to my scalp,
and I climb
to take my crown
of burning
lusty mistletoe.

My sickle,
golden,
a glimmer
in your eye.

The red stream
That spills
from the Galloways
fills my heart,
colors our lips,
and stains your white cloak
as my body
is emptied
of its poisons.

I drink from the bound horns,
we feast together,
and nothing will ever be barren again.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

preta

Only a few words to you
Could I ever speak
The taste of the grain of your voice
A ghost
Miles away

Softly I'd dream of you
Would you come to mind
A touch of the feel of your hand
A ghost
Ages away

Sometime I'll write for you
Everything I felt
A look from your eyes to mine
A ghost
Long passed away

heights

Taking off from the capital,
The orphaned metropolis,
Slowly falling further
Under the wings,
Pressure rises
And heats the air to a boil.

The fading city outlined,
Colored and caged
Over the Potomac
By an early morning fog,
Dimly glowing,
Almost
Too faint to see.

Altitude dulls my senses
And I see you here,
And tell you what I'll be doing,
That soon I'll break that
First touch,
Leave no question of interest
In doubt,
End that deficit
Tonight,
Tell you how long
It's been,
And longer
Every hour,
And how long
It could last,
That soon we'll tell
Your brother,
Leave no question of doubt,
Uninteresting,
Having it
And eating it too.

The plane ends taxi
And desert warmth dials me down
To where there are no dark clouds,
But you'll be
None the wiser.

declaration

When I next see you,
I will part the Adriatic.
A caravan to your heart
I will send –
Years of wondering,
Weeks of knowing,
And momentarily,
Sudden action –
My trade.