Poems From a Night of Rain

Wading

She dreamed of diving

in an infinite ocean,

but wading in the lake

was far safer  - 

mostly dry 

and close to shore,

the ocean would 

inhale her under!

Yet safe as she was

with every step clear 

the lake 

did 

swallow 

her 

whole.

(2017)

Autumn Leaves

An autumn leaf fallen 

on a day in late November 

deep red, warm orange 

resting easy, its turn through

grace and wonder, words and laughs

collected now for a child’s artwork, 

an autumn leaf fallen

on a day in late November 

An autumn leaf fallen

on a day in late September 

a pale sickly yellow

dotted with spots of mold

edges already dried and dead 

withered and tired from too much sun, 

some autumn leaf fallen

on a day in late September 

(2017, meant as a contrast between my grandmother’s life and my own as I felt it then)

Driving Through

I am from

the space between atoms
a bubble in an ice cube
a daydream I don't remember
but return to all the same.

I am from

some speck of dust
on someone's prized possession
taking in a loving gaze
as if a part in essence.

I am from

a spot of ink 

upon a map
that shows your old hometown
but me? 

oh I'm just driving through,
a stop for gas and eats.

(2019, from the creative writing class, writing prompt "I am from...")

Abiding

Some flowers grow

in the cracks

of city sidewalks,

some ferns abide

the desert, 

where the 

odd drop drenches

a grateful root

in the void 

between 

living and dying.

(2018)

Choking

A puddle boasts of its depth

in the rays of a bright noon sun,

an ocean panics at its own reflection

in the stars of a fair night sky,

a river laughs in its drunken bloat

as it crawls across the plain,

and a well chokes on some fell bile

in its thirst for a sip of rain.

(2019) 

Passing

I am water. 

I will fill your cup

your bowl, your bath

but you drink me, pass me 

down the drain. 

You dive and swim

dry and away

and you drink me pass me 

down the drain. 

You batten down, cover up

for only a night of rain

and you drink me, pass me 

down the drain.

So I flood and ruin,

quench yet leave you parched

as you drink me, pass me 

down the drain. 

I freeze and crack,

boil and disappear. 

You drank me, passed me 

down the drain 

when I was water and

I was so thirsty. 

(2021, for DM)