scattered

I protect myself
with disarray
and hide behind
this chaos
I've collected.

No one can really reach me.

I have to confess
at times,
I'm hard-pressed
to even find
myself.

unspoken

I keep hidden

deep

beyond the bottom

of my heart,

in a place

that does not exist,

a singular Nothing,

the presence of which

no longer causes grief

or pain.

No sense of loss,

no suffering remain,

at least that you might notice,

but behind every thought,

between each breath,

I am keenly aware

of this hollowness,

this empty space

which is not there.

once upon a time

it

is not.

it

never was.

how

then

do I feel

its loss?

collecting freckles

Collecting freckles

at the shore,

wind and spray

play wild in my hair.

I mark miles of sand

with a barefoot rule

to the cooling caress

of ocean foam

and reflect

in the light

of a blazing sun.

I search the horizon...

the sky...

the sea...

until a fresh perspective

finds me.

Unburdened

by this quiet gift,

I am content

to turn toward home.

september

there is an urgency
today
in the green
of the trees
behind my house,

leaves so seriously
intent
on coloring
the cooling light
as it falls to the ground,

as if they know
the nearness
of winter's
silver
silence.



jws
sept 2006

meteor shower

alone on my back
between midnight and morning,
I wait and shiver
against the freezing wind.

my eyes fixed on the deep above
through frame of roof and treetop

it begins.

first one…
then three…
seven…
I lose count
they come so quickly

tiny bits of cosmic (more than ancient)
dust on a journey too vast,
for a time too great
to be grasped by the humbled creature
I have suddenly become.

so beautiful the flaring streaks of light.
so elegant their arc and curve.
each blaze a brief and brilliant
death.

not a
molecule
left
intact.

what was
is no more.

and I watch in wonder,
in growing terror
that such a thing should be

so silent.





jws
november 2006

element

bend low
to catch a drop
of glistening
shimmer
from the blossom

lift it cool
and quivering
to your eye

watch the swirling
dance of color
and light

now listen


.