—Poems by Dah, Berkeley, CA
—Anonymous Photos
THE SPIRITUALITY OF A RAINBOW
The spirituality of a rainbow:
a colorful thought
from universal consciousness
manifesting across the sky.
The living colors of water and light
illuminating in silence,
as if a wisp of innocent beauty
from eternity’s memory,
smearing, stretching, arching,
its raw finish, its vibrant nakedness,
for all of creation to delight in.
I bow to the ephemeral visits
of rainbows,
to their
fleeting impressions
of luminous spirit.
The spirituality of a rainbow:
a colorful thought
from universal consciousness
manifesting across the sky.
The living colors of water and light
illuminating in silence,
as if a wisp of innocent beauty
from eternity’s memory,
smearing, stretching, arching,
its raw finish, its vibrant nakedness,
for all of creation to delight in.
I bow to the ephemeral visits
of rainbows,
to their
fleeting impressions
of luminous spirit.
TRIBE OF CREATION
Stillness: at the edge of this meadow,
motionless against air’s clear skin
a luminous red coat’s white-tipped ears
are on the sound of my breathing, with
ancient eyes on the motion my bones make.
An air current streams my human scent
to the fabric of its sensors. I stop
in a space that inserts the intimacy
of our understood curiosity.
I ask nothing more of this divine red fox
than to know my friendship or my eyes
that adore it or my spirit’s dignity in offering
peace from the tribe of creation that we are.
I sit as the fox sits along the countryside
of our ancestors.
In silence: within the instinctive expression
of stillness together we breathe and take in
dawn’s nourishment as if estranged friends
remembering an old friendship
from another lifetime.
THE NIGHT’S BREATH IS MORE LIQUID
The wind kicks up the baked sepia dust, turning it
to a vigorous cloud in low motion over a thirsting ground
mixing its physics into sails of circling yellow leaves and debris.
I walk across the early evening light like Jesus lightly
over the water, my eyes stuck on some distant crow ascending
with its mouth yakking.
The wind tips the bird to the right then to the left
refusing to leave it alone. The air, the scent, the light
emphasizes autumn’s arrangement: the night’s breath is more liquid.
MUCH OLDER NOW
Much older now: I have returned to my soul,
holding earth’s stained skin in my hands.
A great illusion is in front of me,
the sky spreads its moons.
Time is dying yet never stops creating
and destroying life.
I have spoken of perfect hours, the accomplishments of years,
unfaithful silence, a rush of salt from the seas.
In this world the sky is a poet and the whole of life
inhales dawn and dusk—consider this:
Love:
a meeting place upon our mouths.
Loneliness:
a shadow a body no longer wants.
Love:
give me your hand
and feel my breath spilling over.
Harmony:
a hidden sweetness, the sky’s silence,
a piece of love from a finished kiss.
Nocturnal Love:
wildly scented bonfires, shadows
against emptiness, sunlight
held by the moon.
Winter’s Light:
a fresh wound of delicate aromas,
a transformation of air to glittering rain,
a mouth that sings like a banjo.
Under layers of life death rots to its very end:
life has set fire to us, we must burn.
___________________
Today’s LittleNip:
FROM THE HEART OF LOVE
—Dah
I want to drink
from the trees
from the sky
from the clouds
from the eyes of love
I want to drink
from the rivers
from the deserts
from the fog’s drizzle
from the nipples of love
I want to drink
from the body of love
from the heart of love
from love
I want to drink
_____________________
Many thanks to Dah for this mornings poems! Dah’s seventh poetry collection is Something Else’s Thoughts (Transcendent Zero Press), and his poems have been published by editors from the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Spain,Singapore, Philippines, Poland, Australia, Africa, and India. He is a Pushcart Prize and Best Of The Net nominee and the lead editor of the poetry critique group, The Lounge. Dah lives in Berkeley, California, where he is working on his eighth book of poetry. Welcome back to the Kitchen, Dah!
Sacramento Poet Mary Mackey and Davis Poet Andy Jones may be heard in conversation on KDVS (90.3 FM) tonight at 5:30pm on Dr. Andy's Poetry and Technology Hour. Scroll down to the blue column (under the green column at the right) for info about this and other upcoming poetry events in our area—and note that more may be added at the last minute.
—Medusa
Berkeley Poet Dah
Celebrate Poetry!
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