Backlit Glory

Backlit Glory

what was a leaf
but glorious in 
afternoon sunshine
deep in october

take off your hat
bow down a little
if only in your mind


thing of beauty maybe
only a cold leaf chilled
in october sunshine

brightly lit but nearly 
(frozen) we looked
at the gravesite


kicked last year's leaves
off black granite names

her sister found it
said she remembered
almost where it was

now what remains  
will rest beside her
beloved mother


Bark

Bark

ragged and rugged
chaotic randomness

bunch of red and orange
making quite a mess

or is that what we see
tree bark of arbutus


growing wild on rock
you might well think
nothing would grow

(life pushes through)
arbutus trees will grow
where nothing's safe

that's the way life is
i have heard some say 


clinging on where 
it might as if in
frantic desperation  

thriving in places
beyond imagination
sometimes past hope

as even love may do







Things we Remember

Things we Remember

there's things that we remember
there's things that we forget

sometimes we need to know
we have seen nothing yet


my girl has gone before me
i hope that she's okay

i look around and see her things
and see them every day


i want to fling them really far
but friends tell me to wait

in a few years i'll want them all
to keep my memories awake


remember now how quick her mind
remember too how kind her heart

she was there beside me day by day
her loss has left a mark 


there's things that we remember
there's things that we forget

sometimes we need to know
we have seen nothing yet

hand in hand

forty five years hand in hand
turning life into adventure

making anything better
than it might have been

without the right attitude
we wandered (never lost)

without panic (adventures
don't include panic) only
joy that we walked together


many never find that recipe
i tripped (and almost fell
over it) when we travelled

i decided that everything new
was a wonder (rather than a
challenge) that it was all fun


so we continued when we
came home to freezing
weather (it didn't matter)

because we had learned
it was all an adventure

that we shared together

Deep in the Night

deep in the night
(at 2 am) i wander

looking for my dear
she'll never come again

sobbing tears my throat
because she can't return

shoulder by shoulder
all those years together

a heart attack so sad
valentine's day

spoiled for me forever
it won't be the same


adventures on the globe
we walked on volcanoes

hand in hand across
calderas cool to touch

exploding into lava flows
when we were safely by


forty five years we loved
she dreaded that day

i tried to encourage her 
an operation should

make her life easier
and we'd have fun

next summer when
she'd be healed


her body couldn't do it
doctors and machines

kept her body running
(in a way) two weeks


in a kind of purgatory
she couldn't last
when the machines went quiet

when we knew at last
no hope of life remained

water from my eyes
for all those years


deep in the night
(at 2 am) i wander

The Yellow and the Red

The Yellow and the Red

where do you go
when you won't show
your bitter sorrow

your love above
has gone to silence


he cannot weep 

where still when still
his tears will never flow
revealing little sorrow

and he cannot show
numbness that he feels


yellow seems cheerful
red is for love or blood

he can never say when sorrow
stole his words away


sometimes that old man cannot rest
his loved one's buried deep
beyond his dusty days

(he feels a need) a need to weep
because she is (she is asleep)

Spotted Wonderful

Spotted Wonderful

we had a little wonderful
i called her spotty which
she seemed to love

white fur and brown spots
she was a farm girl
in another life (havester
of vegetable gardens)

sometimes a little help
is much appreciated

that little dog could dig


and here's a spotted lily
another spotted wonderful

a spotty lily in its element
 
a gorgeous summer flower
while cold blasts our days



never knew if it was those spots
that were wonderful

or if these little spotty things
are just wonderful in spots

Start to Open

Start to Open

as they start to slowly open
true colours begin to show

i watch with hope these
things will eventually
turn out as good nature
wishes them some day to be

pleasing no one isn't easy
but we do it all the time

things do somehow
open as they should


processes can be so messy
all the experts gather round

try please try to save her
i'm dropping right down 
kneeling on the bloody ground


we don't see around hard corners
life comes at us just like that

orange tulips slowly open
as we gather up our songs

(are they orange flowers)
maybe yellow
showing off their powers


all open to interpretation

The Edge of Things

The Edge of Things

looking out over
everything we can see

that totally amazes me
its all about the edges

            ---

my neighbor's daughters
six years old
went climbing on a wall

they went right up
like spiderlings
and weren't afraid to fall

            ---

my girl is in a coma
its worrisome you know
she can't see or hear me
please don't go







Focussing on Spring

Focussing on Spring

   freezing has been common
for as long as they remember
      this freezing time of year

temperatures slowly rise
      until the ice retreats
   slowly slowly slowly

      but not this year


   daffodils are difficult
      to keep in focus
when you get so close

because the bell is long

so you can focus near
      or focus far

   we cannot see that well
a normal lens does better


a daffodil does not have
   intelligence like ours

but does everything right

   with embarrassment
i consider some ways
i fail (embarrassing
      because am i not
in some way superior)