N
as usual
I forced the hyacinths
in January…
sitting re-writing, re-writing
their smell wafting over me
N
small town wedding
the bride in beaded pink satin
the groom twitching his tie
the entertainment – Patsy Cline
and Dolly Parton lyp-syncs
D
when meadows resist
forget-me-nots abounding
buttercups in drag
daisies with two few petals
he loves him she loves her they . . .
D
his bed made early
by imprudent gardeners
the earth was so dry
parched lips sealed unsung at birth
now he cries rivers daily
*
N
to tell me of his love
he brings in red currant branches
in full bloom
recreating the outside inside
his inside love outside
N
a rainbow
in the valley and suddenly
the trees are colored
seven-striped, surely at such a sight
one should turn the coins in one’s pocket
D
today pocket coins
are mixed with tokens of love
transit for the heart
the city lifts my spirits
with handsome apparitions
D
prismatic arches
fuel becoming rainbows
romantic gutters
a glowing urbanity
wildflowers fill the streets
*
N
tidepools
when the tide withdraws
a certain sadness
hangs around the stranded sea-weed
and the hermit carrying his home
N
longing always
for my home, that even
when I have one
I still feel myself with
a residual longing
D
few residuals
in the poetry we sell
as words from the heart
swirl in dank cashless glee
swamp of soft murky phrases
D
damp peeling birch bark
marked by nature’s elegance
sans intransient tree
words on trunk and bough of odes
leaflet, root, and verbiage
© David Bateman and Naomi Wakan 2012