Daydreams and evocations
(of an Ojibway free spirit)
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PIANO MAN: SONG OF AN EXILE Each note hangs in the air Like a crystal teardrop Before bursting into myriad sparkling bubbles That float across the room, out of the window And into the meadow beyond. The musician at the piano is smiling At ease with the mysteries of his instrument Commanding the magic of the music
The full house is in awe Silence and the thunder of applause The man becomes a bright-eyed boy On Christmas morning His face aglow with undisguised delight These footlights, this stage, this city Are far from the steppes Far from the Cossack horsemen, The cabbage soup And the heavy black bread Far from the fresh-faced young girls and sturdy women Far from the soldiers swilling vodka To make the lingering night less hostile The house is on its feet The musician bows, smiles But his heart in in the little kitchen On the far side of the planet His exiled spirit years to Hear his native tongue
Oh, but this is the price of freedom The man with the little boy’s smile And warrior’s heart Is one with the music He made his choice He smiles and plays another tune.
OAK CREEK CANYON Water ripples over rock Eddying, cascading Your towering oaks sustain A thousand tiny armies Of fire ants and beetles Giggling, splashing children Tumble in your swirling pools It is summer in Slide Rock, Arizona
WALNUT CANYON Faded pottery shards Remnants of cave drawings Testify to a time when These canyon walls thundered In a symphony of life
The cries of a lost tribe Still echo across the eons The sounds of birth, hope, death Cling to these rocks and cliffs Begging to be remembered
A race of warriors, gatherers Believers Trusting in the power Of nature, rain People of the Canyon People of the corn Cooking, sleeping, loving, dying In your canyon city
And then you vanished Like lightning flashing Across a summer sky Real or imagined?
But you were real Your spirits haunt the Rocky slopes Your voices ride the Misty twilight Where did you go? In haste? In fear? Late in the night Campers say they hear Your ghostly wailing State park - Monument or mausoleum? Walnut Canyon Tell me your secrets.
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PORCH LIGHT A brand new light bulb shows the way To laughing youngsters home from play The house is new, the paint is bright The porch and railings strong and tight
From the kitchen spices waft And mother’s hugs are warm and soft I was that porch, shiny, new I watched them as they carried you
A wriggling bundle, dimpled, sweet Their sweetest dream at last complete I saw you, boy, with ball and bat Chase the dog that chased the cat
I saw you stumble on your skates I watch you on those first shy dates Then once when all the world was still My light bulb glowed in the wintry chill
You asked the girl. There was a hush Was it the cold or did you blush? A pretty bride, a nervous groom Moved into the extra room
Your babies crawled across my floor, Left sticky smudges on my door The kids grew up and moved away Now you and the missus pass the day In the garden by the trees Holding hands in the twilight breeze
You tell old tales and sit and rock Pacing your life by the kitchen clock Your wife took ill and passed away
And you cried softly that sad day
Now grandkids visit, the gardens bloom While you hide in the safety of your room Sometimes you and your gimpy dog Have tea with me in the evening fog
My paint is dull, your eyes grow weak The aging porch steps groan and creak Dark clouds scurry across the sky And the autumn wind has a tired sigh
Today the medics took you out You did not grumble, squirm or shout With quiet rapture on your face You hurried to a better place
The porch light flickers off and on Peonies dot the rolling lawn New children laugh and run and play Another time, another day
HORSEMAN IN MONUMENT VALLEY
The mesas
are calling, Winjack woman
Painted
pony, solitary rider
Amber
eyes, a warrior's brow
Mysteries
of the ages
To know
him
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BABY GIRL You did not arrive with a Day Planner or a cell phone You should have Speechless, helpless You commanded Your beauty, your strength Evident even at the beginning A tender bundle in my arms You did not cry Instead you look in my face Your gaze ancient and wise Intense Asking me questions Challenging my own wisdom Today you turned sixteen You are still wise, old, knowing Yet you seek shelter, answers Be safe Blossom, thrive Soon you will take your place In a needy world.
BABY BOY Tiny Squirming Primal Emitting the lusty language Of your watery, pre-birth world Trusting, needy Beautiful baby boy I promise to love you, nurture you And then watch you fly away.
ILYA The night-time cities of the Eastern seaboard Are ablaze in neon fire.
The woman from the forest knows that world Only from the glossy pages of travel books. Is the water truly turquoise? Are the beaches really white? Concrete edifice imprisons, Unlike these sheltering canyon walls.
Her lover's ocean world is alien Home to fair-skinned sun-seekers
Her forest home is cool and green Bubbling with the laughter Of brown-skinned babies And fragrant with pine and wild flowers The men in her world have Amber eyes, copper skin And straight hair the color of midnight. Their lean bodies hard as flint
Tonight the man she longs for is an alien With an alabaster brow Soft brown curls tumble around his shoulders His eyes shine with a strange silver fire And music grows in his heart. His fingers burn --- have burned --- With all the furies of heaven and hell In a single scorching touch
Tonight he stalks the Eastern byways Pursuing an elusive star In a heaven only he can understand Numb, she stumbles through her days
Love improbable, impossible, forbidden Words played like notes On an out-of-tune piano Where is the harmony? Where is the sun? Where is the fiery-eyed vagabond Who fled with her soul?
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SATIN MOCCASINS She wore a tattered nylon hood Her dirty jeans had holes The threadbare sneakers on her feet Let snow in through torn soles
Along the dark cold street she trudged Her eyes too sad for tears And there down in the mud and snow She saw the shining sphere
The box was round & brightly wrapped Like a giant Christmas ball The kind that hangs on cheerful trees In the Yuletide shopping mall
She tore the silky bows away Her hands trembling and cold Then lifted out the velvet shoes... Moccasins-in shades of autumn gold
She slipped them on her tortured feet They felt so soft and warm And then it was no longer night Bright spring replaced the storm
Her aunt was there with bread & soup Her mother, smiling sweet A place of warmth, safety, and love Replaced the hostile street
When she awoke, half frozen In the city hostel bed She thought about the night before- Had it all been in her head?
She rose and washed and ate her meal Then walked out to the street She knew she would win at life's game With satin-moccasin feet.
EMPTY NEST
I hear the footsteps of time behind me
The road behind me is far longer
The ecstasy of first love
It now becomes a time to choose
I have another calling now.
Commitment and a bond unyielding.
Two
small companions
Now the babes have flown the nest Muse, I am back.
Timidly I knock Can we start over?
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(formerly satinmoccasins.com)
