serendipity in a paradox 8.

From above
is a sentinel's sight

from within
it's burning bright,

from the wind
driving arrow-like

to the heart
diving fast as light

to embrace
talon tight,

grounding spirals
landing upright

a supportive friend
with a falcon's might.




This was a California Red Tail Hawk, the largest local predatory bird.  On the coastline, the Peregrine falcon is it's counterpart.  This juvenile hawk tried to fly in the window at my clinic.  He spent the following hour sitting outside, stunned by the window glass.  He kept a close eye on us, but didn't retreat when we came up to him.  He just watched us move behind the glass, baffled. (eventually he flew away)

Losing her

Above the jogging couple a single leaf

reddened in the shadow

of the neon of summer

their faces glowed

as they lurched forward

glancing at each other as if,

by running again along a new route

they could keep

the old roads from view.



Clouds rimmed their town

with fresh mountainous pillars

dry and sparkling,

the words always there

between the days

of waiting for each breath

and knowing.



She waited

in the hospital rooms

in wallpapered halls and under crocheted throws.

She couldn’t help her mother anymore

but never said the word, goodbye.

It meant she would have to look back

and forward to recognize the road she’d chosen.


So she ran,

fresh and wet and charged

medicated by endorphines

he filled

the moments given

without knowing how to help

and kept the words coming

each hello a gift.


Every shared thought a valve

to open and liquefy the loneliness.

Fed and warmed and burning the fall

without losing their way,

they ran.


My mother's birthday contiues to be an anniversary for reflection, 2 1/2 years after her death.  No longer in the throws of mourning mixed with infatuation for the world, I can savor the memories, one at a time.  Good bye is still so final....

never see it all

-
I thought I’d seen it all,
don’t ask me why….

An oak tree in spring bursting green phosphorescence.
Three babies born, from the flesh between us.

Thought I’d seen it all,
don’t ask me why….

Two hummingbirds hatch and learn to fly.
A speechless man in fear reach out as he died.

Thought I’d seen it all,
don’t ask me why…

A winter moonbow in a rainy western sky.
Seen enough poetry to make a skeptic cry.

Thought I’d seen it all,
don’t ask me why….

Old friends fall in love, who suddenly act shy.
Letting you draw close enough, to hear your private sigh.

Thought I’d seen it all,
don’t ask me why….

Seen my fear and loathing turn me from my God, to strife.
Seen more Haitians lost, than folks I’ll meet in life.

Thought I’d seen it all,
don’t ask me why…

Thought I’d see the day when I could say goodbye.
I still catch my breath, when you catch my eye.

Thought I’d seen it all,
don’t ask me why…..
-
-
(I find myself caught at the end of the day, tired, over-stimulated by people in need, while I wish for continuity, and then hate the repetition of routine.  I can stop and look at the change in the colors around me, and cry for more while I mourne if there is less.... The same goes for relationships, which I have to look at with the same eyes, as they continue and re-cycle and renew and cry for more.  Just when I thought I'd seen it all and didn't want any more.  Here's to my man, of 24 years young to husbandry.)
-3-31-2010

Good Medicine

You dose out good medicine

As potent as a gust of laughter
unstoppable in a burst of joy,

As calming as palms pressing down unannounced
loosening the weight of my shoulders,

As hopeful as the moment of introduction
of your baby girl into my arms,

As the easing into rest
while you spread blankets over my bed,

As a wicked master of a chocolate slave
who uses it in unspeakable ways,

As a sister who sees my weakness
and a parent who puts it right,

As part woman, part male,
yin and yang:

Life shakes us,
the lines blur between us,
we've blended beyond oil and water,
into the spaces between what matters...

with your unique medicine.