My treasured keepsakes bulge in pockets of time—rather moments—that are tucked hard against the bones of my heart. They remain as fresh and life-giving as the first-offerings of spring rosesbuds, tight with fragrance and bleeding of crimson that smears across my fingers as I pull them out one petal at a time. The edges are…
Tag: poems
The Frayed Hem
Earth’s latitude and longitude run as high as humankind’s intelligence and as long and wide as our strength and life span. Here we live caged. We run the circled courses of these by the second—up and down and around—our machinations are profound. We are curing cancer and changing sexes, flying beyond the moon and putting steak sauce…
Ineffable
Remember when we watched—mesmerized by majestic deer on the distant highlands, feeding at noon? And our friends exclaimed, “How intriguing for this time of day!” The ground shook; and the sun, moon, and stars broke to pause and peer for a lifetime of five seconds. It was the cry of the seagulls and arcs of…
First Rain
Sometimes the rain carries me to the eternal God Himself whose shadow He deigned to shimmer within a fading fragment— like a raindrop. When heaven and earth blend, the atmosphere grows redolent with eternity. One small picture of that mix is rain and earth. First rain mingled with soil takes on an irresistible scent. Before…
Proclamation
The black earth that swallowed the acorn, and the seed that died and split open. The tender sapling that shivered to rise, and the tree that towered above the house to touch the clouds. The roots that bore deep below the sand and rock, and the verdant leaves that waved with the wind. The veins…
Beautiful Words
I’m tenderly moving the stones around the velvet-lined box of cedar. Some, I pick up to examine—peering into their deep and light shades of color. I’m looking for beauty, clarity, and roughed authenticity, scars—yet polished by time and conflict. The gems will string together to tell the story of what I see and don’t see,…
To Julia
Today is only reserved for coffee, poetry, music, and lovely thoughts of you. Little Princess Julia played dressup for hours—for years until the velvet dresses thinned and tattered. We planted tulips together and dressed your bears up and had tea parties with friends. Your childhood favorite food was pintos and cheese, and we watched Barney,…
Healing
The river of disappointment and sorrow—the one that catches in your throat and you swallow back, the one that stings your eyes hot with betraying tears—if you release that pain to stream freely, it will push out, out to empty itself into the vast deep of the salty ocean brine that scrubs clean the wound….
Shades of Violet
When I was in the seventh grade, a new girl checked into our homeroom class named Darla Star. She shone like a beacon in a dark sky with her curly raven hair, beaming brown eyes, and confident smile. To this day, I think those magenta suede go-go boots, that she glamorously paraded, gave her a…
The River Banks of Tomorrow
I’m passing by car the miles of Ireland and Scotland, and a million dewy green grass blades and pink sea flowers blur with speed. But strangely, the narrow roads, lined with old stony fences, magnify as we pass. I’m lost in the thoughts of tomorrow’s transition, contemplating if the banks of the river, that held…
Bonnie Saul Wilks 