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429 · May 2017
Communion of Words
Mary-Eliz May 2017
I search for the right words.
You patiently wait.
I speak...
slowly...
deliberately.
You understand.

Is it because we know
that each word
that passes our lips
carries with it
cradled somewhere
a piece of our souls?

For so long
as I moved about
in a foggy sleep
a dark and misty dream
my soul was held captive
a prisoner to fear and doubt
distrust and bitterness.

Then I awoke.
I learned freedom
learned to love again.
Yet even now
my soul flows out
with caution
choosing carefully its vehicle
attaching tentatively
to the words.

Like a fledgling
unsure
yet
certain it must fly
I speak...
slowly...
deliberately.
You understand.
I search for the right words.
You patiently wait.

You give me wings!
Mary-Eliz Apr 2017
With Poe-try you can surely
get your Words' worth.
So many words are waiting
like a Wolfe at your door,
for their Cummings into being.

If you listen, they Pound
upon your brain
They Lamb-aste your viscera,
making you Nash your teeth.
They create a Millay in your head.
So many shapes, so many Hughes!

Lusting for Moore, they Lear
at you when you least expect.
Look back at them!

Like Frost upon the windowpane
they write themselves,
then, when all is said and Donne,
melt away too soon.

Grasp them when you can.
Put them in a Rowe.
Taylor them to your muse,
use your Whit, man!
426 · Jul 2018
Choosing a Pet
Mary-Eliz Jul 2018
I see you there looking at me
cutest thing you'll ever see
pink peach fuzz all over myself
I sort of look like a cute little elf

my nose pokes through the fence
to show my eyes black and intense
I'm just a little guy, won't be a hog
I'll get along great if you have a dog

I'll be loyal, I can learn tricks
I'll trot along, feet making clicks
I want a home, I want to be taken
just please, oh please, don't name me "Bacon"
Cutest picture of a little pig! I want one.
425 · Apr 2018
Sisters
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
Six to Twelve
(My Big Sister)


My sister,
she’s a silly ol’ priss.
Know what she did?
She gave her boyfriend a kiss!
Blech! Doesn’t she know
boys are just yucky?
Doesn’t she know
they’ll make you buggy?

We used to do things together,
my sister and me.
We’d play in our yard
And climb up our tree.

But now when my sister
Arrives home from school,
She calls up her boyfriend.
She thinks she’s SO cool.
She giggles and whispers
Closed up in her room.
She stays there forever!
Well…
All afternoon.

She’s acting so silly.
It must be a stage.
But I won’t be like that!
When I get to her age!

Twelve to Six
(My Little Sister)


My little sister,
she’s such a pest.
She goofs off in the morning
when she needs to get dressed.

She has to be reminded
to brush her teeth and her hair.
I have to tell her what to do sometimes
and even what to wear.

She can really get in my way.
I want to be serious,
but she wants to play.

I wonder will she ever grow up?
Will she be cool like me?
I know I was her age one time
but I was more grown up, you see!
Also for the children's book.
Mary-Eliz Jun 2018
no care, no stress
no traffic sounds
relaxing in or out
bliss that knows no bounds

building castles
flying kites
seagulls' call
in playful flights

in hammock lazing
palm tree's pleasant shade
reading, writing
sipping lemonade

whispering breezes
softening light
ocean's rhythm
lulling sleep at night

waking to the sky
pink and tangerine
strolling in the sand
beside the water's sheen

no care, no stress
no traffic sounds
relaxing in or out
bliss that has no bounds
423 · Apr 2018
Broken Branch
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
You, my sister,
are the one friend
who has known me
all my life
and
I've known you most of yours
less
three years before I came to be
and
a few for which
I have no memory

I wish
I could recall

when I was new
did you lift me?
or stroke
my forehead?
did you sing
to me?

did you gaze
at tiny feet
and
hands
in wonder
and
amazement?

were we pals
even then?
even before my eyes
could focus
on your face
to see you
to know you?

did our spirits
know each other
and
bond in some mysterious way?
planning even then
their escapades
of
running
bare-chested, barefooted
in blazing summer sun
circling our tree
so "far" from home?
our adventures

did they see
the time ahead
when the fog would come
and
confuse?
when we'd each
be alone to struggle
with who we are?

did they know
we'd find our way
back again
never completely losing sight
of our special bond?
a bond temporarily
blurred by life
by grown up sorrows
deaths
separations

grim details
of life

like a broken branch
on a tree that hangs
by not more
than a thread
hangs on through
all the storms
clinging with all
its energy

finally
growing anew
connecting fully

better
than before
Mary-Eliz May 2018
feeling lost
in this vast wilderness of words

lone voice
This is what I was feeling when I couldn't post anything!
422 · May 2018
Love's Flow
Mary-Eliz May 2018
My husband whose hair is
a ripple from the midnight river

whose laughter is the glow
of noonday sun on the ocean

whose hands are the breeze across
my face and the thunder in the earth

my once sailor who now works the earth
and sweats the salty sea from his pores

my green man whose hands,
both gentle and strong, nurture plants.

whose tanned skin in summer shines
with sweat palpable and real
over lean muscles
formed through loving labor

my husband whose eyes are the dark
sky before rain and the glistening
trees after

whose eyes are those of a sea lion
an eternity deep

whose soul is molded to mine
like cupped hands dipping water

whose soul refreshes my soul
like a drink from a mountain stream

whose soul goes with me always
running through me like a river...
A repost I meant to do Saturday for my husband's birthday.
421 · May 2017
A Story (Author unknown)
Mary-Eliz May 2017
An elderly lady had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole that she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other *** was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked *** arrived only half full.

Every day the woman brought home only one and a half pots of water. Of course the perfect *** was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked *** was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other ***'s side? Every day while we walk back, you water them. I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without your being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

QUOTE FROM LEONARD COHEN'S "ANTHEM": "There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."
421 · Apr 2018
Always Missing You
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
I keep reading
lovely tributes
to grandparents
especially
to grandma
it seems

I smile
sometimes
a tear
then a tug
remembering wishes
remembering dreams


I remember
kids at school
"headed to grandma's"
at the end of
school days

going to see her
going to play

I remember
my yearning
when
hearing about
the cookies she made

the stories she told
the hugs she gave

It might be
grandma
or nanny
or gran

they rang
in my ears
as I wished for
my own to listen
and understand

those names my lips
wanted badly
to form

my tongue to
taste
cookies
fresh and warm

my arms wanted
to hug her
tight

as she hugged me
back just right

my fingers ached to
brush
fine silver hair

as I'd rock
there in her chair

to tenderly stroke it
away from soft eyes

perhaps
as blue
as blue as the skies

my heart wanted
to say
I love you
grandma
I love you, I do
and
one day
I'll write a poem
just for you
I know grandparents are special. I just wish I knew it firsthand. My grandmothers both died before I was born and my grandfathers when I was far too young to remember them. Thank you to those of you who are/were lucky enough to have grandparents for the beautiful tributes I read here!
420 · Apr 2018
It's Their Time
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
in beds where flowers grow
well-kept, neat and clean
they've let the kale and cabbage go
it's rather a pitiful scene

they grew quite tall, they flowered
and then they went to seeds
now they're looking oh so cowered
they could be seen as weeds

their stems are gnarled and knotted
the ends are brittle brown
their roots will soon be rotted
the whole plant is dragging down

please someone be gentle
save them embarrassment
these lovely ornamentals
that once were so elegant
The retirement home where I spend three afternoons a week as a caregiver has a very large property. The flower beds are generally kept pristine, with change-outs of annuals with change of season. The ornamental kale and cabbage looked beautiful all fall and winter, but they've gone well-past their prime. They look sad and just ready to go.
418 · May 2018
Invitation
Mary-Eliz May 2018
I'll try to write this in a poem
don't know if I can, we'll see

there's a book being formed
includes some folks from HP

has pictures, stories and poems
"Forever In Our Hearts" it's called

if you've wanted to be published
here's a chance, your family will be
enthralled

it's for a good cause as well you see
half of proceeds will go to rescues

of those wonderful pets who become family
who just might have inspired your muse
I'm nearly finished but realized I hadn't invited here. I've noticed some poems and requested their use, but there are probably still some gems out there. I'm close to finish and don't want to make it too expensive (it's based on number of pages) but if you message me in the next week or so your pet's tribute could be included. As noted there is an emphasis on rescues and half of the proceeds will go to rescue efforts.
416 · Apr 2018
Not Completely "Gone"
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
Just because
I've put my clothes on

upside down
inside out
and backway round

doesn't mean my mind has gone

must be still in my prime
it's not all at the same time.
My husband just said "that would be a good one for a children's 'nonsense' book"... I said "but it's not nonsense...when it's true"
414 · Apr 2018
Lonely Prairie
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
the hushed
prairie
beckons
quietly

its stately grasses
forming a dry
whistle

as they
wave
hopefully
413 · May 2018
New Math
Mary-Eliz May 2018
1
and
seven
squared
times twenty
again and some
more plus just a circle
or two, counting on fingers
to one, counting yet some more
and over and over again, don't forget
triangles now they count for a lot, you know,
figure it out, add it all up, equals a gazillion and
ten to the power of ten hundred thousand million+1
Total nonsense.
413 · May 2017
10W - Some days
Mary-Eliz May 2017
.... are gems
Some are not
Deal with it
Being a bit impertinent. :-)
413 · May 2018
Passages
Mary-Eliz May 2018
death comes
hungry

at times swiftly
like a high
wind

rushing
through in
wanton disregard

other times

slowly like an
iceberg

stealthy, lurking

obscured

by the flower that
is love

hushed

by the music that
is life

subdued

by the dance that
is spirit

as we pass our days
on this swirling
sphere

until our threshold's
met
413 · Apr 2018
Cat Got Your Tongue?
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
(photo session baby picture)
Serious                                                 ­                                                          
somber
no smile

Come on, child
I don't have all day
What's wrong with you


Oh go ahead
take one anyway
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(early school years)
Serious face
somber
no smile

speak up, Child
no tales to tell?
of schoolyard adventures
games to be won?
you're so quiet...
what's wrong with you
cat got your tongue?


sad little face
tears running down
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(high school)
Serious face
somber
no smile

rattling papers
quivering lips
how long did this speech have to be?
knees won't stop trembling
how long can one take this misery?
can't see for tears forming

hot burning face
crippling disgrace
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(meeting)
quiet
tentative: "I have an idea
I'd like to present..."

loud
dismissive
oh let's move on
that won't work


("why did I bother to come?
I feel like a ****")

burning eyes
lip silently bit
don't let the tears slip
And people don't understand why I was shy and sometimes still am.
Mostly moved past this..mostly! :-)
413 · May 2017
In Love (10W)
Mary-Eliz May 2017
You can't see
stars above ~

for ones in your eyes
411 · Mar 2018
Ending Haiku
Mary-Eliz Mar 2018
cattails wave softly
arrow of geese split the sky
summer's end coming
Out of season. Oh well, it'll come 'round again. :-)
410 · Apr 2017
Full
Mary-Eliz Apr 2017
again
the moon
perched
atop
a darkened
plank of cloud
floating
in iridescent
river of sky

again
the moon
pregnant
with
the sun’s
light
round full
lake of fervor

again
the moon
opalescent
in
the stars’
glimmer
silver frosted
ocean of ecstasy

again

                        the moon...
402 · Mar 2018
Another Chance
Mary-Eliz Mar 2018
How can the same sounds
at once
make my heart light
and my soul heavy

Tears forming
from both

power like none other
to move to tearful smiles
and smiles through tears

Strokes of
tenderness
creating the illusion
of floating

yet deep and weighty

Magic or
largess unknown
to those of us
who can only
listen in awe

Wishing another
chance in life
to discover how

to create

music
Upon hearing "Tally's Lullaby"; Karen Marie Garrett on piano, accompanied by cello!
As a child I ached to learn the piano. My parents couldn't afford lessons, but when I was 12, my Christmas gift was 6 months of piano lessons. I loved it and cried inside when I heard classmates complain about *having* to take piano. I always wished I had been able to start younger and to continue. Part of the powerful emotions evoked by this (and other) music stems from that regret.
401 · Apr 2017
Simon and Garfunkel
Mary-Eliz Apr 2017
Time doesn't change everything
as people sometimes say
time changes the seasons
from warm to cold
and
back again

the dark of night
to
light of day

as it changes a child's height
so does it often alter
a grownup's girth

time may change one's hair
to white
or
silver-gray

and carve wrinkles in the skin
steps may slow
and
memory wane

but most are who they are
and
will remain

"after changes upon changes
we are more or less the same."
* Quote from "The Boxer" by Simon & Garfunkel
401 · Apr 2018
Chumming for Red Fish
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
Stacks of letters
saying "no"

rejection can be
such a blow

most every writer
has some

even Dr. Seuss
though he had a chum

that's how the book
expressed it

when they said
who would have
guessed it

he'd pleaded
to so many

said maybe
ten or twenty

supposed to make
for less regrets

bid you continue
in your
attempts

but

then they drop the boom
bring you back your gloom

they go on to say
in these very terms

he bumped into a "chum"
who worked
for a publishing firm
I have a book on how to get children's books published. I thought this passage was so ironic. They were trying to say "even Dr. Seuss" had been rejected X number of times (wasn't all that many). When they went on to tell about his "chum" it seemed they were saying "even Dr. Seuss had to KNOW somebody." LOL
Mary-Eliz Apr 2017
baby steps
grown
routine
tiresome journey
seems unending
then death.
Some get even a smaller "flash".
398 · Apr 2018
Dandelion "Whine"
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
they're in their own class
yet they get a bad rap
those tiny bright suns of
gardens and grass

they give so much
it's really not fair

to make such fun
of the clothes that they wear

clothes that are cheery
and chase away dreary

they're truly a prize
for both stomach and eyes

they offer their leaves
for a salad
it's really true, this is valid

their heads of yellow
made into a brew
can make you quite mellow
and satisfy you

if that's not enough
to give them their due
beauty and charm
sustenance too
giving their all for
a drink and a dish

give breeze
to their fluffy white seeds
they'll grant you a wish
393 · Apr 2018
Dandelion Wishes
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
Some people think I’m a ****
but that’s not exactly true.
If you let me
there’s lots that I can do.

My blooms are bright like sunshine
popping up, smiling at you.
They invite the insects
like bees and butterflies, too.

They light up the grass in most seasons,
fall and summer and spring.
Children pick them to give to their mothers,
a surprise bouquet they bring.

All the plant can be eaten.
Flowers, leaves and roots
are full of healthy vitamins,
raw in salad or cooked in a soup.

But maybe best is when seeds grow
you can wish hard and gently blow.
As they float away to grow anew,
perhaps your wishes will come true.
This is the Children version of my earlier "Dandelion Whine". Planning to give it a place in the children's book I've been working on. The title of the poem will probably be part of the book's title but I haven't decided what that will be.
392 · Apr 2017
Pages of Black Birds
Mary-Eliz Apr 2017
Sometimes
I think I'll stop
writing...
that lasts
a moment or two

until

my thoughts begin to form
into some force that builds
until
it has no place to go
but
down my arm
      through my wrist
          into my fingers and
              out through their ends

into the pen
         flowing from it
            onto the page

in black ink or blue
          in pencil or green marker
               pink crayon or highlighter

onto backs of bills
           old letters or jagged-edged envelopes...

any empty spot looking lonely
            and in need of being stroked

my pen strokes it and coos to it
              giving it life, giving it meaning
                                                       (I hope)
                   making it a page in my book,
                        my scattered book that may

never be bound

do I want it to be?
or
do I want it free, floating, scattered to the wind

like black birds leaving a tree
              shooting out in all directions, writing
                   their book, their black ink making a deep
                       impression in the pale blue sky, cursive writing
                            with frills and dips and curves

watch how they move, how they write it all down
                 in the heavens for all to read like books on a library's
                    shelves holding themselves out, offering their very souls

to the loving hands of all who pass by, bound pages waiting to be freed
                  to fly across our minds like blackbirds across the sky,

writing
                        
a new page there
Someone's poem...I should have written it down...reminded me of this one.
Mary-Eliz Mar 2018
There was an old guy from UK
his hair was balding and grey
he loved to waffle
it isn't unlawful
but he just couldn't get it to pay

There was a poet named Gregory
he had a really good memory
words were his game
but oh what a shame
it sent him straight into beggary

There was a poet named Mary
like the rhyme she was contrary
she liked to write poems
drinking from jeroboams
what she wrote came out rather scary
Waffle - a word game
Just having some fun!
384 · Mar 2018
All These Words
Mary-Eliz Mar 2018
...pouring out
of my mouth,
my fingers,
my heart

all these words
aloud
whispered
living in print
(or on screen)

all these words
were gathered
and saved
by a "silent" child
a quiet, thoughtful
child

all these words
danced in her head
floated in her heart
caressed her soul

then like chance meetings
of friends
of lovers
they began to connect
realizing "safety in numbers"
feeling the power of many
consuming all the spaces
in her being

until they had to burst
like seeds of exploding plants
and the child
became florescent
381 · May 2017
Bruised Shins
Mary-Eliz May 2017
I bend over backwards
I give everything
it never seems enough.
my shins end up kicked
till they’re ****** and sting.

they take all I have
and always want more;
graciously I oblige,
I don’t notice the pain till later
when I realize I’m sore

pained by the mental abuse
raw from emotional jabs
their cruelness I try to avert
but
I’m simply too nice to people
and that’s how I always get hurt.
381 · Apr 2018
Forgetfulness (10W)
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
again...

a thought
pursued freedom

gone forever

from my mind
380 · Apr 2018
A Boy, A Dog, A Truck
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
every boy
needs a dog
to be a friend

every dog needs a truck
to ride in

every truck needs a bed
to stretch out in

gazing at the stars
in a dark clear heaven

every starry night
needs lovers
holding hands

every lover needs
a starry night
to muse under

every starry night
needs a dark
clear heaven

every heaven needs
stars to fill it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

every grown-up boy
is in his own sweet heaven
when he has a truck
and a dog
to ride in it
Inspired by my husband, our dogs and our truck. Also by Greg's two recent poems "trail dog blues" and "what a view"
379 · May 2018
Minions
Mary-Eliz May 2018
they say bow down, peons
bow down to the golden cow
to the holy, the sacred one
unending loyalty avow

raised high on four shoulders
in processions for all to see
celebrate and cheer as it passes
with streamers thrown in a spree

send up fireworks in its honor
its resplendent glory extol
croon hosannas and hallelujahs
hand over your very soul

it's the be all and the end all
that's what they'd have you believe
that it deserves all attention and laurels
of course they'd never deceive

make no misstep, follow along
like lemmings to the sea
don't think for yourselves
now and then bending a knee

if someone says "I love that cow"
say it louder and repeat
that golden idol so worshipped
give the most exalted seat

place it on a pedestal
encrusted with precious jewels
that's what they believe it's worth
those fawning, sycophant fools
Make it whatever you want.
378 · May 2017
You Smiled At Me
Mary-Eliz May 2017
and the sun
found my face
through
the darkness
of sullen clouds
374 · Mar 2018
Tease
Mary-Eliz Mar 2018
Look...here comes Spring!

sweet scent in your nose
balmy warmth in the air

Ah, but then there it goes

Returns...might stay for a day

Leaves yet again as it pleases

that's its fickle way
It's been coming just to tease us
Snapped a cute photo of my pup in a chair on screen porch, looking off in one direction. She was enjoying a Spring like day Feb. 22. Posted on FB captioned "Look everybody, here comes Spring". When it snowed about a week ago I posted it alongside same picture only reversed with the caption "and there it goes!" Hope it settles in soon. The teases are getting old!
373 · Apr 2017
Playwright
Mary-Eliz Apr 2017
Do you recall your dreams?

unconscious dreams
nighttime dreams


plays acted out
behind
curtains
of closed eyes

plays for which
you are neither
playwright
nor
director,
only starving actor
trying to decipher
the script
mercurial,
mysterious

I've heard people say
they can
control
what they dream

how,
I wonder
Do they split
the mind
into
playwright
director
still one to "act"

teach me
I need to know

how,
I wonder
when I awake
in terrified
sweat,
the curtains wide open
wishing I could
forget

playwright’s
evil pen,
director’s
harsh words,
my botched lines
and
nakedness
372 · Jun 2017
Not Counting
Mary-Eliz Jun 2017
Hand-in-hand
with the Muse
I feel ageless
timeless

with that guide
how could one lose?

ageless, timeless

when my skin is warmed
in morning sun

when I delight in
childhood fun

kaleidoscopes
colorful jumble
juxtaposed
to unique
lace-like designs

playground swings and slides

making wishes on
dandelion seeds
or stars shooting
in the amethyst evening sky

watching the flight of a butterfly

building sand castles
as the waves
tease the edge
and tickle toes

counting petals on a rose

lying in velvet grass
watching silken clouds
in the cerulean sky beyond

viewing the breaking of the dawn

walking in a gentle rain
rhythm of a rumbling train

rejoicing in these again and again

and...
when I die
I will be
just for that brief moment
but no more
all at once
all those ages
I was before

my soul set free
I then will be
timeless
ageless
for eternity.
Mary-Eliz Jun 2017
We spend our lives
searching

do we even know
for what?

we move through
light

trudge through
shadows

feet stumble,
slip
on unsteady rocks

stumble, slip

fall

and

rise again

to face the next day
the next challenge

hoping for another
chance

and fire enough

to light the lamp
that guides

through storms
and darkness

through pain
and heartbreak

through confusion
and despair

fall...

recover

next step...

do it all again

for

hope shines
and
dreams beckon
Mary-Eliz Apr 2017
It's a losing proposition
you won't come out ahead
if you try to play word games
with one whose life is in what's said

so take my advice and play it straight
no twisting or dodging about
say what you mean, mean what you say
we win that game each time without doubt

though it's not much of a paying gig
we take it seriously
words are at the heart of things
they're what can set us free

so don't play word games
with a poet, my friend
you'll come out behind
in the end.
Mary-Eliz May 2017
The devil whispers
"You can't withstand the storm."

The warrior replies
*"I *am the storm!"
Wish I could post it with the picture - a B and W of the face of a magnificent lion. Oh, the eyes!!
370 · May 2018
Who Owns Words?
Mary-Eliz May 2018
every single word
we use
every single letter

has appeared before
somewhere
okay, perhaps better

but where do we
draw the line

when we say someone
has "stolen"

when we're talking words
and phrases

who gets the credit
earns the praises

it's even probable
it seems

that phrases one
person dreams

they've never read
elsewhere

yet someone
somewhere out there

in recent time or
days of yore

has used the same
before
Just a very silly thought...along the lines of the monkeys typing Shakespeare's work! LOL
369 · May 2018
Flown Away
Mary-Eliz May 2018
already flown the nest
they grow so fast
and fly away

so soon they're on their own
swiftly go their days

I had seen the lovely blue
of their protecting "wombs"
then next thing I knew

peeked in -

empty now

they've fledged

took to air

no sign
they'd even been there
Several days ago a bird startled me flying out from a vine growing on a small trellis. I peeked in and saw a nest within the leafy vine, two perfect blue eggs inside. Today I had my phone handy, decided to get a picture of the eggs...empty, not the slightest trace of feather or shell. There's another nest on the top of a drain spout, too high to peek in, but I did see momma sitting quietly there today. I feel honored when they nest nearby and a bit nostalgic when they fledge.
365 · Mar 2018
After His Dying
Mary-Eliz Mar 2018
Through the gray fog
of sub-conscious
she seeks the laughter
shared by others
soft eyes full
of questions and desire

With the deepening
Autumn shadows
Winter hovers
in her mind
bitter and sodden
burying all the once warm places
with its icy cover

As endless afternoons
stretch out
in front of her
she reaches
for something
to hold on to

Her slender fingers
cling
to a book
with no substance
just words upon a page

while her fragile mind
weaves a tangled
web
to catch
the scattered elusive thoughts

But the web is empty
its silken threads broken
no longer able to hold onto
eternity
365 · Apr 2018
Messages
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
orb weaver
spinner of dreams
creator of gossamer
your fragile web is
deceptively strong

drops of dew gather
like strands of precious gems
while you reap the harvest
of unsuspecting prey
like ripe fallen fruit

enchanting snare
captivating tangle
microcosm of life
I always get excited to find a magnificent black and yellow garden spider, the kind who write messages in their webs.
364 · Apr 2017
Mirror, Mirror
Mary-Eliz Apr 2017
Our parents.
They are what we wish not to be
but will become.
Some too soon gave up the ghost
while others gaze now squarely
into the face of death.

They are a full-length mirror
from which we avert our eyes
as though by not seeing we'll control what is
and what will be.

In a bid to smooth the wrinkles
before they even form,
we slather on the ointment of denial
and smugly turn our heads in scorn.
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
ROBIN REDBREAST

It was the dingiest bird
you ever saw, all the color
washed from him, as if
he had been standing in the rain,
friendless and stiff and cold,
since Eden went wrong.
In the house marked FOR SALE,
where nobody made a sound,
in the room where I lived
with an empty page, I had heard
the squawking of the jays
under the wild persimmons
tormenting him.
So I scooped him up
after they knocked him down,
in league with that ounce of heart
pounding in my palm,
that dumb beak gaping.
Poor thing! Poor foolish life!
without sense enough to stop
running in desperate circles,
needing my lucky help
to toss him back into his element.
But when I held him high,
fear clutched my hand,
for through the hole in his head,
cut whistle-clean . .
through the old dried wound
where the hunter's brand
had tunneled out his wits
I caught the cold flash of the blue
Unappeasable sky.
362 · Apr 2018
Dance of the Night
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
Awakened
I sense a presence

a brilliant star
in a black eternal sky

hovering

elusive
ethereal
=================
sometimes
in the night
we feel her

she is the fog

drifting in

drifting out

just a breath away

a part of life
the other side

in those darkest
stillest hours
that hushed time
between
the worlds of dark
and light

she's just above
just around
twirling
flitting
changing partners

================
May I have this dance?

she takes a hand
and leads the soul
onto the dance floor
where it pirouettes

freely

separate from its fleshly burden
soft and circling

she smiles  
all is well

once more she has a partner

I sleep again
my soul intact
having not yet
learned the dance
Old one...A re-write/renamed.
361 · Mar 2018
Occupational Connections
Mary-Eliz Mar 2018
Postman
and poet?

love letters in mail

Accountant
and poet?

precision, detail

Archeologist
and poet?

sifting for feelings

Electrician
and poet?

a jolt
leaving one reeling

architect
and poet?

drafting with words

Zookeeper
and poet?

singing of birds

Bus driver
and poet?

observing life's roadways

Minister
and poet?

perhaps how he prays

Lawyer
and poet?

though about win or lose
her poetry just might amuse

whoever you are
whatever you choose
listen, observe
welcome your Muse!
A bit corny but have been pondering various occupations and how to reconcile them with the person also being a poet.
360 · May 2018
Midnight Caravan
Mary-Eliz May 2018
in the carnival
that is life

time spins fields
of sunflowers
sweet corn
and sassafras

tilts and whirls
to form
paths where caravans travel
riding out their destiny

in the dusk,
at evenfall
in firelight's twitching flames

music echoes

scuffed boots dance
in drifting dust

raised under wheels
worn and rusted
heavy with age

when darkness swallows
the horizon
dying embers crackle
                                  spit
                         ­              spark
                                              
            ­                                            sink into
                                                            ­        stillness

stars peep through
the dark curtain
of the sky

moon follows
- radiant -

the sky is theirs
- the moon and stars -

until midnight
wanders in

bringing gravid clouds,
pregnant with life

the moon hides
stars recede
as if too shy to watch

the wind awakens

seems rhythmic
in its gasps

lightning rips the dark drape

thunder bellows

clouds
- labor relieved -

pour forth
delivering their gift

earth's lifeblood
soothes the dust

twists
cascades
down the hills
forming whirlpools

collects in streams and rivulets

that merge
with
grateful rivers

winding
to the sea

homecoming
of
the carnival
of life
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