Solace — An Image

An artfully altered close-up photo of a Beech tree's leaves and seedpods, and a forested background.
“Beech” — C.Birde, 9/21

“You speak

in terms of months,

seasons,

years…”

She smiled greenly,

shook

her leaf-crowned

head.

“Oh, but, darling,

you are rooted

in the

eternal.”

— C.Birde, 9/21

Freedom — A Poem

An artfully altered photo of a rain-slicked wildflower garden in a 100-plus-year-old suburb.
“Garden of Rain” — C.Birde, 9/21

This morning,

at breakfast,

clad in green smoke,

Humming-girl paid

a visit and darted

between the fizz and

drizzle of gray rain,

unspattered.

Mid-air, she paused –

suggestion of form

and wings; an aura,

a blur –

to observe us encased

in our glass-walled

box.

We think ourselves

sovereign. Free.

Absurd.

In a breath and a wink,

she was

gone.

— C.Birde, 9/21

Stew — A Dream

An artfully altered photo of a yellow-enameled cast-iron Dutch oven, filled with shredded paper, on a stove top.
“Stew” — C.Birde, 8/21

Ingredients:

2 c. vegetable broth

1 c. brown lentils

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. ground cumin

½ t. ground coriander

½ t. ground turmeric

salt & fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

1 manuscript, shredded

Method:

On full, dark night in open-format kitchen with streamlined, brushed-steel appliances – open all of porch’s double French doors in invitation to West Wind to pour over slate floor.

Place oval Dutch oven with tight-fitting lid over medium heat; add olive oil; heat until shimmering, ≈ 3 minutes. Add onion & garlic; sauté until onion softens & becomes translucent, stirring occasionally, ≈ 3-5 minutes. Add lentils & spices; stir well to combine; allow lentils to toast slightly, ≈ 2 minutes. Add vegetable broth; stir until well incorporated.

Carefully add shredded manuscript. Observe any stray words: Autumnal; wind-slippered; irrelevance. Consider meaning. Incorporate all slim strips with other ingredients; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover & allow to stew indefinitely.

While waiting, notice Moon’s reflection in countless glass panes; listen to silence; water plants.

— C.Birde, 8/21

August — An Image

An artfully altered photo of a reed and flower filled meadow, with tower cattails.
“Rattlesnake Meadow, August” — C.Birde, 8/21

“I will lounge…”

she extended her limbs,

“…in all my cholorophylled,

green-gold glory

& drink August

to its last,

sweet

dregs.”

— C.Birde, 8/21

Goldfinch — A Poem

An artfully altered photo of a male American Goldfinch, perched amongst a bed of blooming wildflowers.
“Goldfinch” — C.Birde, 8/21

Too slight

to bend

the primrose stem,

They perch –

small bright motes

of yellow light –

and pluck

the coneflowers’

seeded

crowns.

— C.Birde, 8/21

Unnecessary — A Dream

An artfully altered photo of mirror-imaged trees, hedge, reflections to offer a dreamlike, psychedelic image.
“Unnecessary” — C.Birde, 8/21

Before

before I

before I can

   comprehend the

nature

nature of

nature of this

   funerary scene &

extend

extend my

extend my offer

   of service …

The scenario, in its entirety –

options, challenges, solutions –

have all efficiently been

noted, discussed, addressed

with no need of my aid &

I can

I can only

I can only stand &

   observe

from a distance

of un-necessity.

— C.Birde, 8/21

Tilt — An Image

An artfully altered photo of leaves and branches, swirled together at the center.
“Swirl” — C.Birde, 8/21

“Remember?

When first

we beheld

one another?”

She rustled

& sighed.

“How the world

tilted ‘round

our axis…”

— C.Birde, 8/21

Summer Slice — A Poem

An artfully altered photo of sliced peaches on a white plate.
“Peaches” — C.Birde, 8/21

Gluttonous of peaches –

I am grasping

  greedy

    miserly to shameful

degree.

“Let the juice run down

the chin”?

Nonsense.

Folly.

Shameful profligacy.

Serrated knife peels

brushed-velvet skin,

slices slim bright grins

from deep-grooved

stone.

Like myth & love,

I swallow whole.

Every liquid vein,

each mouthful –

  mine alone.

    Savor

      savor…

Ingest

the whole of Summer’s

transient warmth,

ward against impending

cold.

— C.Birde, 8/21

Column, Shifted — A Poem

An artfully altered b&w photo of a fence, representative of a spinal column.
“Column” — C.Birde, 8/21

Grit teeth grinding

bone-on-bone

Internal skree

of brittling dust

falls d-o-w-n

the shift-stacked

ivory column

Collects

Barnacles

Erodes smooth glide

of movement

Nibbles

Gnaws

Bites

A dull, full-rayed star

radiating dis-

ease.

— C.Birde, 8/21

Hands — A Dream

An artfully altered photo of a journal page -- words, pencil, sketches of hands and moths.
“Hands” — C.Birde, 8/21

Our hands move

Stir the dark

Reflect the light

emanating from her skin,

from the dusky spill

of her hair

Where she sits –

luminous, aglow –

in a high-backed chair

carved of ebony

Our hands –

pale moths winging

about her flameless

conflagration –

shift the aromatic

dark

Aflutter

Replicating her glow,

her light.

— C.Birde, 8/21