“Yes,
day’s length shrinks,
pinched
at either end…”
Her leaf-crowned head
rustled agreement.
“…but I’ve burnished
the light to
g o l d…”
— C.Birde, 10/21
Burnished — An Image
Twilight Bloom — A Poem
Autumn’s twilight
blooms,
this froth of asters,
bee-filled & spilling –
unbridled –
about the garden’s
unkempt edges
Lace-edged foam
of white,
lilac,
lavender
borne & tended
in courtly fashion
along an ebbing
surf of green…
— C.Birde, 10/21
Sing — An Image
“Do you hear me?”
Her voice ascended –
russet,
orange,
gold.
“I sing to you through
the trembling throats
of Autumn
wildflowers…”
— C.Birde, 10/21
Rabbit Blessed — A Poem
Forgive the intrusion;
this chance encounter,
such great, good fortune…
Dark eyes stare, fixedly, unblinking.
Legends say your Ancestor
fought the Sun, demanded
decreased heat & light, & won…
Long ears twitch & hinge & pivot.
That four spots on your cinnamon fur –
on each hind leg, behind each ear –
mark that ancient victory…
Rear leg stretches, scuffs base of ear.
Myth says, too, you are companion
to the Moon, your likeness pressed
upon her, silver-gray…
Whiskers flick, nostrils flare.
Well suited, as you may need,
to contraction or release,
is your sleek musculature & economy of form…
Wide yawn precedes a full-length sprawl
beneath the bronze-green hedge.
Mischief contradiction of creativity,
you hide in plain sight, unseen,
a duality of self, at ease…
Folds front paws, rests chin;
eyes close.
The dish in hand slopes water;
place it, eddying, on shorn grass.
The moment of connection,
of trust & recognition
slips past.
Bid farewell.
Depart –
Rabbit-blessed,
content, &
light-of-heart.
— C.Birde, 10/21
Being — A Dream
How?
How did we two – strangers to each other –
accomplish such a feat?
call this creature from penumbral obscurity
into being?
Full moon blooms beyond refracted panes,
rinses this place, this manor – labyrinthine –
in silvered light
Halls
chambers
corridors
crowd close from all sides, lean in
in long condensed & aged neglect, exhale
Rugs
furniture
gilt ornament
Beneath the pale moon’s benevolent eye,
as one, we two crouch, side-by-side,
astounded
breathless
exhilarant
peer beneath the glass table’s oblique lip
at this inarguable astonishment…
This blunt-tipped quadruped;
squat necked, squared head;
its torso thick, quadrangular;
of conclusive features, devoid…
Eyeless
Mouthless
Noseless
Boneless
And yet, curiously, fully animate
Of a tangerine shade so brilliant, bright,
& incandescent,
all darkness recedes as if repelled…
She – my unknown familiar friend –
extends her arm, her hand to trace…
The creature bucks, sprightly prances
to safety, out of reach, away…
“Hush & wait, do not frighten it…” I say,
“We first must win its confidence…”
Teasingly, it dances at the edge…
How?
How did we, two strangers-not –
despite darkness & abandonment,
from forgottenness nostalgic –
how did we call this creature forth
& into being?
We did.
— C.Birde, 10/21
Caught — An Image
“Sometimes…”
her voice slipped,
in wink & rustle,
through narrow leaves,
“I sneak up
on unsuspecting blooms,
& catch them
in the act of
photosynthesis…”
— C.Birde, 10/21
Full — A Poem
Sea
calmly addressing
rocky shore,
wavelets undulating
Moon
lifting, watery & fully
formed,
the surrounding dark,
obliterating
And I,
breath and pulse
re-synchronizing,
one witness amid those
witnessing
And I,
my pockets brimming
with silvered,
shining,
chiming slips of light
to carry home.
— C.Birde, 9/21
Asters — A Poem
Air,
thick ribbed
with insect song;
Sky,
stretched taut
with cloud,
thinned blue;
Tremor,
soft wrenching,
v i s c e r a l.
I think of you.
Small birds
sway clinging
to seed heads,
blown…
Always,
I think of
you.
— C.Birde, 9/21
Queen Oak — An Image
“I have written
your name
in a hundred million
places…
Blade of grass…
Curl of breeze…
The underneath
of a white oak’s leaves…”
Her wink scattered
beams of light.
“Are you
l o o k i n g?”
— C.Birde, 9/21
Beh(o/e)ld — A Poem
A thousand suns
lift their heads
& turn as one
Unseeing
Unblinking
Bee-scented
rays a-tremble
Attuned to
unfathomable
source &
soundless
song.
— C.Birde, 9/21