Asleep or awake…
In liminal space,
she sits –
gauze covered –
on the bed’s edge
Considering
Reflecting
Her form,
a map of contours –
shoulders & hips,
waist & spine,
profile;
Her hair,
a knot at the base
of her neck;
All
softly blurred under
film-white layers
as she shifts,
lowers
d
o
w
n
atop the coverlet
gently beside me,
entirely at ease
in liminal space
Neither asleep
nor awake…
— C.Birde, 11/21
“Come…”
Her invitation arrived
in a refrain of gold leaves…
“We’ll watch the exchange
of russet, ochre, bronze
for green…”
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— C.Birde, 10/21
Observe,
so sweet a sylvan pair
that for decades,
having side-by-side
together grown,
now glide
smooth torsos
one against another,
entangle limbs,
& gently,
oh, so gently sigh…
Observe & know –
tis yet another
thee & I.
— C.Birde, 10/21
On the left hand –
hand of the moon,
the feminine, the emotions,
& the hidden;
On the ring finger –
finger of the heart line,
of creativity, beauty,
& love;
The nail here –
of this hand & this finger –
has grown
to extraordinary length,
& when touched,
tilts –
painlessly –
from its bed, removed.
Inspect, at eye level,
this two-and-a-half-inch
semi-circular keratin shaft;
Inspect the convex,
empty bed;
Realize –
astonished –
each, with soft gray lint,
is filled.
Reseat the nail –
carefully –
refit it to its powdery,
dust-gray base;
With the right hand,
gingerly place & press it,
thus;
Held now –
nail of the left finger,
of the left hand –
to its original place
(a temporary fix,
at best).
— C.Birde, 10/21
Sing me
into Being,
a breath-born
Galatea exhaled
in the key of D
An Air carried
along air’s edge
By lips & fingers
coaxed,
untethered
Heart tempo’ed
Soul scribed
New-woven
song
of me.
— C.Birde, 10/21
Confinement
cast in barren walls;
smooth-polished floors
of wood
A spartan space
Devoid of comfort,
coloration,
but for a single blue-gray
drape that stirs –
alive with motion –
draws attention
to stretched-wide
sliding doors of glass
Step through…
(bare feet exposed
to metallic bite
of the threshold’s sill…)
& pass without…
A cloistered deck awaits….
(O, secondary ruse…)
Gaze up, neck craned…
Witness to impossibility,
to the unprecedented –
A looming verticality
of storm-gray water…
A towering sea-wall
barricade that sways & ripples,
looms & eddies,
a-swim in motion overhead…
Extend a hand…
trace white curls & lines
of foam…
touch small leaves of ochre
caught in spiral currents,
& recognize…
(with sudden indrawn breath)
the trap’s new-altered
height & width & length.
Although recast, reshaped,
confinement yet
remains.
— C.Birde, 10/21
“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
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
“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
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