—Poems and Photos by Carol Louise Moon,
Placerville, CA
THERE IS A FAR DISTANCE
BETWEEN HERE AND MISTY TREES
In this winter of green upon green,
seeds still remain—a root, a bed, a love
made easier beneath a clear blue sky.
Beneath a wintry sky all is gained and
nothing lost—a lung’s breath in and
an unknown word given out.
Even the soil, having not given out,
will be nourishment to trees and to seed-
pecking birds and their daughters.
Princess Shikishi, third daughter of Emperor
Go-Shiragawa, says of winter, in virgin voice,
“The moon bares the garden.”
The garden of the princess is revealed.
Little stones encircle the cherry tree,
which is her Beloved. A bird shuts its beak.
The canary shuts its beak. Only the song-
sounds in its head remain. It is no longer
young and knows this.
Having known the princess and pecked
seeds at her feet, the bird sits on her head
listening to cherry tree blossoms.
Blossoms and songs (green and the sound
of green) are heard across the great
distance between misty trees and here.
Buckeye Candles
CRAPE MYRTLE
“Look at the grey tree…”
—Tomas Transtromer
Her leaves hold fast to limbs
of cosmetic leathered bark.
Her roots are hidden deep
beneath the soil.
You are welcome here,
welcome to breathe in
your own release.
But do not inquire of the myrtle
regarding her roots,
nor volunteer achievements,
your failings: underpinnings
of desire and regret.
You can only guess
what she must be standing on.
VALLEY VIEW
Valley deciduous trees stand
clustered, crimson-topped.
A palm leans tall, beleaguered,
between two ragged oaks each
popping bouquets of mistletoe.
Cypress, usually on the march,
stand windless at attention.
A surprise of prickly pear cactus
cozies along a graying fence;
all seen from bird’s eye view—
all on a cloudy valley day.
Maui Palms
THE PALM
The palm, she sees the clouds float by
in hues of blue. The seas, they roll
in this slow dawn on Honolulu’s shore.
What’s more is now the birds
have joined the tree to sit and see
the show of early sunset’s rustic glow—
before the nighttime closes in,
when all the stars shine
not so bright as moon,
later on tonight... but not so soon.
Toyon Berries
INVITATION
You will run
through grassy shadows
with me, yes?
In orchards, rows of wood
stand against the winds of apathy.
There we can find strong
opinion branches: primary,
secondary, tertiary.
There are arms full of leaves.
Concerning these trees,
their shade happens daily.
We’ll run together,
never tripping on shadows,
never going our separate ways.
Today’s LittleNip:
LONG LIVE THE OAK…
—Carol Louise Moon
the passage of time
evident in this Blue Oak—
oh, that I should live
so long a life, arms outstretched
greeting sunshine and
storm with equal forbearance.
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Welcome back and thanks to Carol Louise Moon for her talk of trees and their forbearance this morning, something we could all use a little of...!
Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Cafe & Juice Bar meets tonight at 8pm on 16th St. in Sacramento, with featured readers and open mic. 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, celebrating grassy shadows and arms full of leaves…
—Anonymous Artwork
Photos in this column can be enlarged by
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.