perhaps you will
survive this cluster chaos
to create the lived life
you desire

perhaps

perhaps there is a
fine-toothed comb
to clear the nits from your
filaments,
nits placed there by ignorance
and nurtured with stupidity

perhaps

or

perhaps you will
discover your heart
instead -
plow it up from under
the brain’s deceit -
to reap the Love
you know you are

and always have been


c. 2023 Roberta Compton Rainwater

black Americans stroll
past my car
on this warm November day
pursuing who-knows-what
as I wait for
who-knows-what to
complete

I’ve forgotten how it feels
to be a child out of
school
these strollers remind me
of those freer times
but
I’m old now and
sensing the end of my long life
not morbid:
practical

and despite that thought
I’m joyous
waiting for
who-knows-what
to complete

because life is more
than thought
and
way beyond death


c. 2023 Roberta Compton Rainwater

a road outside the house
rowed itself over the rough
unstable sward
to the end of Time
there to guide all
as though needed
more than Light


c. 2023 Roberta Compton Rainwater

how exquisite is my sky today!
rosey and white cloud-banked around
her smile
her ever-present smile
sun-brightened
twittering
moon-brightened
humming
how lovely is my sky today!
bears love her
buffaloes move under her
winds scrub her cerulean eyes clean
storms race past her
pushing beyond her domed curve
to the sea
cloud-ridden, she lets them win
how precious is my sky today!
a treasure at the end of the rainbow
a ray of hope for all
is my sky today!


c. 2023 Roberta Compton Rainwater

I’m listening to gentle praising
the wind praises the trees
as it soughs through the leaves
the leaves tremble at the touch

birds praise the gusting air
as it carries their songs across
the nimble land to my ear
a trilling of joys and feathers

my heart joins in, making the trio
a quartet of flute, timbrel, song, and heartstrings
melodiously transporting all who listen
to join the angel choir in windy praise songs

to Life


c. 2023 Roberta Compton Rainwater

dense with stories
written on diaphanous pages
tales of love and dishonor
battles and travelers
torturers and healers
killers
mystical
mysterious
maculate
biblical
-read

fluid with melody
written in grace notes
and notes of grace
on staves like wires on poles
wrenching
beatific
dramatic
sensual
spiritual
-heard

movin­g with color
created in visions
brushed with the fire of gods
dull
plain
painful
exquisite
delicate
beauteous
-seen

touch­ed by angelic hands
formed of the earth
tempered in water
molten
chipped
hammered and carved
to perfection
spatial
dynamic
rounded
softened
crystalline
-containe­d

-felt


c. 2023 Roberta Compton Rainwater

there’s a child growing
in me
she moves and kicks
knows my voice - loves its music -
listens to my heart, beneath which
she thrives - loves its rhythms -
urges me to eat hearty
- loves the food I eat -
makes me dance
- loses control when I cut loose -

I remember!
she is the joy I once had
before birth into this spoof
this
virtual reality
this
emotional chaos

there’s a child growing
in me
she will be borne
not born
she is me
my Soul returned
from an exile
too long endured
mourned for
missed
longed for
returned at last from neverland
no longer
a sacrifice to a life unlived


c. 2023 Roberta Compton Rainwater