SEASON 4
Autumn
she wears a coloured coat
of yellow, brown and gold
then strips the tree naked
and makes a harvest from the dirt,
I cacoon myself
within the warmth
of her welcome, woven skirt.
SEASON 3
Summer
she sings in the sunlight
shimmering through the trees,
she rolls down the river valley
water flowing over stone,
I see diamonds sparkling
on the fabric
of the summer skirt she owns.
SEASON 2
Spring
she just sits in the wild plum tree
and sings to me a song,
scent of something new,
a tune so strong
I fall for the fragrance
tangled up in her
skirts hanging long.
SEASON 1
Winter,
she is gathering up her white skirts
with a crisp swish and sway,
she gives me a wink
as she makes her way
down the cold valley,
dares me to follow
but I choose to stay.
EXHIBITION
A time to live
To laugh and cry
The stroke of the brush
Washing the faces
Of deep love
A gallery of hearts
Captured in that canvas
Framed for all time
TRUST
Laid low in the earth,
dust to dust,
we mourn the passing
like iron turns to rust
IN ICELAND
...oh he melts the cold breath
with the beat of a warm heart
he is a friend of mine
even when we be out numbered
even when we be apart...
ASKING FOR BREAD
I’m caught in the crossfire
between the bread and the stone
I am tired of the asking
of hearing the echo alone.
OLD FRIEND
Saw him in the shadows
moving across my window pane,
caught a glimpse of time then
in the old eyes of my friend.
THE GAS STATION
The cloud of anger hangs low
over all the congregation,
the song reaches for the heavens,
but drowns at the midnight gas station.
PROPHET
The first will be last and the last will be first
The present now will become the past
The fire and the fury will devour and consume
The tribulation of the heir and the outcast.
CONSUMED
The king and the priest are cast down
The daughter weeps in her despair
The righteous ways have been departed
The children consumed by fear.
LOST SOMETIMES
Just sometimes
I am lost
on the twisting road
of my wanderings,
wondering if
I will be waiting
somewhere
around the next corner.
FORECAST
Sunlight in the forecast
of the long rain
seems a distant hope,
but we hold to it
just the same.
SPEAK AS THE WHALE
Gospel singer,
you sing as the whale,
the words hang
a weight around your neck,
you sing the song
of the meek
for fear that
no one will hear
and be saved.
A DEEP TONGUE
He kills the engine
to hear the silence
covering the sea;
then the whale is heard,
speaks in a deep tongue
that harnesses
the roar of the wind,
that draws breath
from the silence.
JONAH
The slow lapping of water
breaks the silence
surrounding the body
of the whale
floating on
the surface of the sea;
why did death overtake her,
what truth did she harbour
and what did she know
about being free?
WHALE
This whale,
queen of the deep,
lies on the surface
of the sea,
her flesh torn open
by predators,
vengeance
would not let her be.
OVER COOKED
She said she was over cooked this week
over-done, over spent, just over…
the cleaning, the cooking, the washing
the children, the dropping off, the picking up
the refereeing, the wise counsel, the everything...
the evening, the moon, the bed…
ALSO ME
Won’t you listen to my plea,
I know you represent them
but remember, too,
you also represent me.