To Dust
Upon the plains of Babylon he raised
A mountain wrought of gardens for his queen,
Where dolphins swam in frescoed halls, and spring
Did wear a diadem of endless green.
Thus love became an architect of stone,
And pledged to conquer time with patient hands.
Yet desert drank the brick, and ages passed.
The earthquake spoke. The fire from heaven breathed.
Soft-footed time came forth and made his claim,
Till marble learned the humility of sand.
The Black Taj fell before its arches rose.
Knossos beheld her painted lovers fade.
And ink, once sovereign on the crumbling wall,
Now spells no word but what the wind recalls.
What then remains? The column and the name,
Both borrowed by the air and given back in dust.
Empires are footprints which the tempest erases,
And mortal crowns return unto the earth.
But love, enduring, doth refuse decay.
Though siege may burn and river may devour,
Though centuries may grind and tombs conceal,
That which was built of heart shall not be lost.
I gather, therefore, this pale dust as writ,
And read therein the proof that love outlasts its house.
A vibrant spark of cardinal red,
In Washington state, where the firs are spread.
I'd fly over mountains and through the deep mist,
To find my grandfather, I couldn't resist!
I'd land on his porch on a wet, rainy day,
With a bright crimson coat to chase shadows away.
He'd be cozy inside, with his coffee in hand,
And he'd stare at this bird from a very far land.
I'd tap on the glass with my shiny black beak,
Then fluff up my feathers and cheerfully speak–
With a high, whistling tune, maybe
"tweet-tweet-t-woo!"
A whimsical visit especially for you!
The serene evergreen,
Always the same color screen,
Just different shades to be seen,
Green is the common theme,
A healing color scheme,
Branches streaming with activity,
Filling every little cavity,
Dancing with gravity,
There has to be a billion points,
A million joints reaching,
Into the air we're breathing,
Pointy bristles teasing us,
Some pleasing to touch,
Emitting so much energy,
From every extremity,
A remedy for what ails you,
Nature knows what to do,
Forever green in your view,
Proof you can make it through,
The harshest weather too,
If you just keep moving,
Reaching,
Proving you can make it,
Each action groove with the flow,
Blowing through the oxygen,
It's the fuel for the engine,
A billion points begin to open,
Accepting an ocean of energy,
Sending it to every extremity,
The evergreen may hold a remedy,
To the secret of longevity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wittenberg whispers in winter’s hush,
where Martin Luther’s voice once burned the air:
A winter walk, the frostbitten air~
Martin Luther walked beneath the pines,
his breath a ghost in winter’s teeth.
He witnessed a net of light flung everywhere~
stars, like nails, pinned heaven
to the evergreen boughs~
unfurling his sermon:
How shall the weary heart be warmed?
The question hung in the pews like frosted breath.
Jesus’ hands reached out to lift the darkness, the storm,
and so shall you~
crown the evergreen boughs
with tongues of flame.
Each slender candle, small but bold,
shall be a fragile army in the darkness.
No fortress stands, no sword shall be swung,
just wax and wick~
representing Jesus’ endless light
brought into your homes.
Centuries have turned; yet, still they gleam~
glass bulbs and twinkling lights flicker,
retelling of that night.
Christmas trees stand where darkness descends~
not to outshine the star’s old beam,
but to whisper:
Here the darkness ends.
Evergreen
There will be one last word
I will say it to you
There will be one last sunrise
We will watch it together
There will be one last road
We will walk it together
There will be one last meal
We will share it together
There will be one last drink
We will toast it together
There will be one last breath
I will take it with you by my side
jade firs stood on grass-grown scene
her slope swathed in verdant sheen
white frost came, a friend so dear
the woods remain, ever green
blue pines sparkle
under snowy gray sky
on top of voluptuous hills
the evergreen in Winter -
their slant suggests skiers,
and worshippers
around a bonfire - the red house.
the main house in uplift
on the port hill
with conifer’s oceanic tint
xanthous-blue streaks
calming round moon
forest points to the stars
and the fluffy, wet snow, gently falling
While wending my way one sunny day
in no particular direction
on stopping for reflection
I took a look at flowers by the rustic fence
beside a gnarled old tree
and was amused to see
beautiful colours and textures
which it seemed to me could only be
a painting picturesque
packed with pinks and reds yellows too
while beyond there lay
a field of green beneath a sky of blue
an avid artist if not gardener
it must have been
to have created
such as the sight I had seen
tho' my words won't describe
don't do justice to the sight I saw
it is etched in my memory
and will remain so evermore
IN THE EVERGREEN OF HOPE
In the forest of despair,
The evergreen of hope,
Firmly rooted,
Stands in the mist
Of the saws
Of injustice:
Her tired body
Having withstood
The fires of debilitation
And devastating mudslides
Of eroding equity and justice:-
Like her ancestors,
Seek, knock, and ask,
The evergreen of hope
Cannot, and will not,
Be rotted away
By political fungi
Of deceit,
Nor racist bacteria
Of eroding unjust laws:-
Though in its shaded rest,
Hopelessness
May linger for a while,
The evergreen of hope,
Continues to raise her eyes
To the nourishing sunshine
Of reality,
As she sows
Her fertile seeds
In waiting bowed heads,
Impregnating
Their mental soils
With divine
Liberating wisdom
And its supreme guidance:-
JANUARY 2024
Hello, person.
My person, who bathes and drifts in the steaming lake of blue
And chirps a melody of solitude
While strumming the oak guitar for the blaze.
Hello to you--
If you want to hear my thoughts.
My person, whose eyes bleed of the weeping willow's dye,
Who holds the warmth of the stars in their skin,
Who holds the wisps of frail roots in their hair,
Lashes swooping down like evergreen branches.
Hello, person
Who goes with the tide
And lets the moon take them whichever which way
When the blaze does rest and can't guide you any longer.
Hello, person
Who gets washed ashore.
Who loses themself.
Hello, to you--
If you'd like to stay a while.
If only you could see
the forest for the trees
it would feel so good
for then as an evergreen
you'd be out of the woods
and if you cared for me
going out on a limb
tho' not on bended knee
I'd ask you to become
a branch of my family
so near and yet so far
you touched me to
the roots of my heart
and as one fir to another
I bough to you
with all it may impart
for yes I too am a conifer
and what's a tree to do
but stand here in the shade
patiently before I wilt away
while I pine for you
the holms evergreen tree was
like a sherlock holmes twin
without his sensory
probe-abilities...
and probably holmes
accelerated his own
probe-abilities just
for sheer luck...
especially out in parks
where there be so
many women who
sought men as shade...
stan/len
Blubber, don’t
Bloober.
Blibber, don’t
Blabber.
Nothing -- is Greater than
Blue — fake Green
and Its smell;
Sharp Needles --
forever, to,
Ever.
Held In their
long -- Immense
Arms,
full of Fake
Cones.
Inspired by life tree
The Christmas tree, fir or pine
Garden of Eden
Decor, mix of new and old
Tradition is evergreen
A star at the top
Sing along to Jingle Bells
Glitter reflects light
Wish you a Merry Christmas
celebrate with love and joy
TREE of love, adorned with care
TRUE the bond beyond compare
TRIMmed with lights, our hearts ignite
TIME can’t dim this sacred light
TUNE of carols softly hums
TURN the page, our love becomes.
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