Within this sanctum
of breath and bone—
ten trillion anchorites
mimic their devotions.
Bacteria threading
blood’s vermilion rivers
braiding holy water
into the cathedral
of now.
Their alchemy transmutes
starlight
into the wine of existence—
decanted
from Orion’s mythical vine.
Viruses—
those threshold wraiths
between being
and unbeing—
inscribe new verses
in the living gospel
of our chromosomes.
Fungi a cappella
in mycelial tongues
through marrow’s moaning chambers
decomposing resurrection
from each small death
we die.
We are not hosts—
but cantatas
still composing themselves
in light.
Each cell—
a verse rehearsing resurrection.
Hark:
your pulse conducts
this unseen choir
where mortal breath
becomes immortal song.
And in this sacrosanct
communion of kingdoms,
we learn
we were never “I”—
but a constellation of prayers:
timeless,
boundless—
Bacteria
Viruses
Fungi
Me—
becoming
one.
The crocodile smile is such a pretty sight
as the Egyptian Plover keeps his teeth
pearly white and shiny bright
"Open wide," are words heard from the bird
his dental hygienist who picks and pecks
then eats the meaty spicks and specks
and as the crocodile sheds old choppers
(no tears)
so the avian's not unemployed or at a loss
the croc constantly grows new gnashers
for his new-found feathered friend to floss
You look at me
and all feeling is absent
without understanding
or care
Calling me brother
remaining a stranger
defined by the
distance we share
Caught in the fury
of loves abandon
You wander inclement
storm raging inside
A ghost in the mirror
a twin of reflection
Two eyes that stare coldly
— across the divide
(Dreamsleep: February, 2025)
Somewhere in a rugged sunny terrain
a bushy-maned pony kicks up his heels
amid biting flies in a grueling summer heat.
An elegant cattle egret hitches a ride.
Devouring grassland insects, his daily diet,
the egret helps his buddy in his plight
keeping the flies at bay while loping along
together through brush and grass and sage.
Forest therapy.
Lovers embrace trees to breathe,
Symbiosis please!
You cannot surrender
passion
Kill the seeds
of a new dawn
Silence
a word bespoken
Or finish
—what can only start
(Dreamsleep: November, 2023)
As I cooled from primordial cosmic mass as earth,
you oozed out of petrified rocks I am made of,
to be my singular fluid possession, water,
valued asset, unique in the solar system.
You've filled the void of my oceanic heart
with fathomless element of indigo tranquility.
The ceaseless convoy of your curling wave rows
bejewels my silvery satin shore with shining pearls.
I discern you rise from ocean as invisible vapor high,
form fleet of fleeting charcoal cloud in smoky sky,
descend with the storm as shower of sweet rain,
and quench the thirst of my parched terrain.
From my mountain’s carved craggy cauldron
you cascade down as copious sparkling streams,
flow through my verdant forests and fertile plains,
go back to the ocean with the story of our symbiosis.
In a circle
Of first graders
Who looked out
With suspicious eyes
On the playground
Next to the
jungle gym
No breaching would realize
A little hand
Reached out
to bravely
Pull me inside
His little heart
Knew in protection
Exclusion
Still divides
Perhaps as myself
He's stood in the outs
Or had earned some rank
In the friendship scouts
Whatever the reason
for bravery shown he was
and will be the clown fish
to this prickly anemone
sea anemone
clown fish hides in tentacles ~
not an enemy
Eternal dance of goddesses,
Fairies and divine hostesses;
Milky Way and the entire space,
All that heaven and earth embrace;
Orchids that evince enchantment,
Butterflies in pure detachment;
Beasts wild and tame in unison,
Birds in their migration mission;
Creatures within oceans and seas,
Shores of tranquility and peace;
Weather transitions; season-shifts,
Rhythmic gifts; erroneous rifts...
All drink from the cup of nature,
In turn, her endless will, nurture...!
30 March 2022
Your vision, Your vision.
The recitation of a poem of metaphor.
And the blink means a throng.
Standing and clapping, clapping and clapping.
The world remains in grief.
Who's forgetting that?!?
Death is the same as rain, on either hand.
What is happening in the waterways. What's happening.
Just eat us. Just eat us.
The bread that's reddish.
Who watered it. Who irrigated it.
And who complains around the misery?
my love, i feel you with me more than ever
interlocked in a meshing of the souls
we're 'we' and together carry on as one
through what remains of this journey
with a mission to live every moment
to pursue passion and love each bite
AP: Honorable Mention 2022
Lazy content smile,
That you flash at me in bed,
Speaks our depthless love unsaid.
Soft anemone,
entwined to a hermit crab,
Symbiotic souls are wed!
Sedoka contest
08/April 2020
Sponsor Edward Ibeh
Sedoka 5,7,7 5,7,7
We are blighted wards
Sordid, trepidatious scars
Haven's wall too darkly far
Eden's thornbush guards
Caught behind our safety bars
Still, we count the free range stars
4/02/20
For 'Pick a Title - Vol 15 - Sedoka' contest
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
theme: symbiosis
Our symbiosis
Is an apotheosis
In what is best about us
Metamorphosis
Into metempsychosis
Will leave each of us nonplussed
3-30-2020 Symbiosis Edward Ibeh
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