Red Wing Blackbird
—Photo by Katy Brown, Davis
WINTER DETAIL
Detail from "The Magpie"—Claude Monet, ca. 1868-1869
—Joyce Odam, Sacramento
What is winter
if not
one lone bird
sitting on
an icy gate
surrounded by bare trees
and blue snow
under dead white skies—
and waiting there,
perhaps to sing,
of find a crumb—or,
life willing—signs of spring . . .
____________________
EDGE OF SPRING
—Joyce Odam
Now feel
the balancings—
all the subtle
shiftings—the changing light,
shadows quickening—music
of the rain.
___________________
SECOND DAY OF SPRING IN THE CITY
—Joyce Odam
I will be the source of your discovery.
Come find me:
I am sitting at a small round table
with a white tablecloth.
I am waiting for a white cup
of house-blend coffee to cool.
I inhale its steam
and close my eyes.
I drift away from the moment
and wait for you.
____________________
THE TURNING HOUR: 5:00 a.m. Vernal Equinox
—Joyce Odam
In the full-moon night of morning
of this first full-day of spring,
I feel the moon ignite the
dark with a fierce quiet
as I rise from my dream
and go to the window
to find the powerful
square of light—
so near—out-shining
the street lamps, and the
porch lights, and the first few
headlights of the morning, and I
stand there awhile in the stillness
and begin to map my day which, in
this clear, shimmering moment, I own.
____________________
Today's LittleNip:
SPRING’S FEVER
—Joyce Odam
Spring says
Look, I will play a trick on you:
I will make you love.
And when you have loved,
I will make you regret your love.
See how powerful I am.
____________________
—Medusa (with congrats to Joyce Odam, Danyen Powell, Carol Frith and Judy Halebsky for wins in the Berkeley Poets Contest last Saturday. By the way, Judy was recently nominated for a California Book Award for her most recent book of poetry.)
Field
—Photo by Katy Brown