Grasslands
They have their seasons
and reasons for being
They shelter and feed
measuring time by colour and height
Reseeding and sending out roots
in order to be fruitful and multiply
Protecting against drought
secreting water
As deep under the earth
they also rise tall above her
Cows and bison graze
stomp aerate and fertilise
Birds carry seeds with the winds
and other creatures tunnel and tend below
They have their seasons
and reasons for being
Winter dreams to life
Under the snow the grasses sleep
their roots at rest
protecting the frozen earth
deep and rich
biding their time in the quiet darkness
listening to the springs and aquifers
beneath them
High above the Wolf moon
prowls across the sky
devouring stars and exhaling them
to glitter on the snow below
At Imbolc the hidden tides will turn
and far below the ice and wind
roots will awaken and stretch
feeding the secret leaves
of grasses yet to rise
into the lengthening spring to come
Elixir of equinoxes
From fall turning to spring’s return
my maple paints the seasons
amber
Leaves glow in the dark
holding a lamp of long
summer days
The morning fog is burnished copper
slowly melting from
sky to earth
A rustling carpet of shifting gems
drifts in the sunlit breeze
spreading gold nuggets
Winter storms turn up topaz and ruby
embers torn from branches
kissing snow drifts
Deep garnet buds
are lighthouses for spring tides
of rising sap
With billows of maple flavoured steam
the sugaring shack slowly reveals
sweet secrets
From pale gold to deeper honey
rich smoked mahogany transformed
from crystal liquid
Holding the life of my maple tree
suspended in every drop of
amber
(previously published in collection "Elixir of Equinoxes" in 4 in 1 collection, Four Feathers Press 2023)
No comments:
Post a Comment