Love to Ian

I saw my Friend

(some many months had passed
 since last we’d shared a beer

and something in these Flint Hills
of an evening

full of setting orange sun and owls’ calls

I took his shoulder to cry upon

(standing in the eastside market
holding our season’s best cantaloupes,
“the first ones that really taste like cantaloupe”
he said
before remarking that

I probably didn’t know

what kind of spring it had been

That night I held my Love
(he held me tightly too, as we held our Friend in our heart and realized

we will never know a spring like that

losing a son

losing a child

Pain pushes you off of the earth

(lifts

you away
everyone
left below in the fluff

Grief unveiled
encircles you

you follow, spiraling

like

a          

hawk            

rising on the thermals
            

God calling
   

(We loved our friend that night,

standing in the Zeandale kitchen

where Dave had
graced us
with his real good self and his two Little Ones.

The love in our prayers—
may it help you to stand.)

Morning

Birds

Songs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XElufx73iRM 

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_ts1aW1Hwg

Ian's story HERE

Loving Women Poetry: I Knew A Woman from Theodore Roethke

more here

Remember to Surface

forget forget forget

Surface

to

knowledge strength realization perception

forget

Surface

listening awake present compassion LoveGraceGod

forget

surface

clearsight understanding peace gentleness Wonder

forget

forget

forget

forget

Surface you idiot

Softer than Milkweed

RK illumination3

You must have stroked a rabbit
Soft
Softer than milkweed
Softening your heart

So soft that no bump registered
The truck drove smoothly on as if not even a pebble had been under
The wheel
That instantly
Sent the life of that beautiful rabbit elsewhere

(I know there is no sin here
But
On this Friday after the Good Friday
As I drive into town
And these strange hot tears keep streaming down my face
I feel Buddha looking this way
maybe wondering
If we still shed tears
If we ever shed tears
For the Bigger Life we took

road kill illumination 3 marytodd

rk illunimation II


here is a poem about

Poetry is what we need

HERE is a site (Shadow of Iris) to see a poem or five.
here is one example:

he said, she said   vi


He said,

what’s up?
She said,

I’m trying to make sense of the nonsense.
He said,

oh.

She said,
not necessarily.

red headed woodpecker exiting thte frame

there also many good links there: such as http://shatteredprose.blogspot.com/

Poetry to Understand Haiti from Kwame Dawes on PBS

This is worth listening to. A Journalist that needs poetry to make the point,

now that i understand. Kwame Dawes

{I do not understand the squandering
of all the good will and money sent to Haiti
by millions who ASSUMED that "those in charge" would Make It Happen.
The recent Hurricane threat
brought embarrassing attention to the lack of efficient response to the quake.}
[It reminded me of the death of Mother Theresa right after the death of Princess Diana. If we were to honor the Princess for her human rights work (no, not her beauty, celebrity, scandals, charm, etc,--it was her human compassion!) then we logically, MUST honor Mother Teresa as well. The networks had a t rick played on them by some Higher Power. and that was what the hurrican bearing down on the UNFINISHED or unstarted? work of Haiti.]
 Yeah, i know, get over there and help or shut up.
Ok i will shut up. But listen to this guy! FABulous.
His poems are made into auditory/visuals that are wrenching.
Here is one.
    More on Haiti HERE and  HERE
There is another poem on the website; this clip below is the interview first with the Poem, Mother of Mothers at just after 7 minutes.