of May ...

Baltimore Orioles visit the hackberry tree now

surprising the shadows
with its vermillion joy
stealing purple from the sky
sometimes the wind blows the branches so
tumultuously that the world shimmers green
a thousand shades verdant & conscious
seeking the sun 

before

there was once
everything
tucked between blades of grass
small worlds teeming
the smell of the cosmos brought to bone
riding on one inhale
lodging behind your heart
the sun
warming the day that lies before you like cherry kool-aid
no damping the
everything
with
shame
shame comes later on long legs & captured birds
regret tastes of open roads & momentary forgetfulness
a summer promise of daisy-chains & blue

now
we dig deep below the soil--below the skin
to tap the current of knowing
we should have gone there years ago
tapped the root of truth below the surface
ate of the fruit with relish & owning

shame has two sides

blades of grass hold the whispered secrets
come ~ lie with me here and taste the madness of this world

this day
before it is too late

redemption

I dreamt the contrast
of light against the shallow
containers of life pressed and chalked to buildings shadowed
tightness and expansion folded into the transparency of being
I am a jellyfish
both enchanted by myself & repulsed
changing to fit into the mold provided by my captors
freedom carried in an overnight bag
smelling of yesterday & you
dust lies thick as fear
yet
generosity steeps in lavender tea left to capture the last rays of a sun
too oft forgotten
power lies in the open fields beyond the stars
beyond this dust