Thursday, March 24, 2011

A CENTO

Photo/Sketch by S. Auberle
AND NIGHT IS ALL
(a Cento)
a settlement of snow
shining there
in the moonlight
the sky is pure and whole
here we lie
entranced
by the starlit water
where the weight of life
has been lifted
and made light
we have become beautiful
without even knowing it
~ mimi
(a cento, for those of you who are unfamiliar with this poetic form, is a compilation of lines--one each--from other poets, and combined in a new way. Yes, it's legal, no it's not plagiarism, the form actually goes back to Homer and Vergil--so if it's good enough for those cats, it's good enough for me!)

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

MARCH DAY ON THE POND

Photo/Illustration by S. Auberle

foxes are pairing up now
coyotes singing their love songs
birds still in dull winter coats
dreaming, perhaps
of nuptial plumage...
six days till calendar spring
~ mimi
(lines from "Late Winter at the Clearing")

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

ASHES TO ASHES

Sedona sculpture-artist unknown
Ash Wednesday- 1949
Church of the Holy Angels...
I'm six years old
kneeling before the altar
fingers rubbing my forehead
the priest whispers above me
ashes to ashes
dust to dust...
my small body trembles
Ash Wednesday- 2011...
Church of Red Earth
I'm sixty-something
kneeling in a crater
where lava once poured down.
I rub dirt on my forehead
find a potsherd
remember those
buried beneath me,
their bones
only red dust
on my jeans...
~ mimi

Friday, March 04, 2011

SPRING SNOW

Photo collage by S. Auberle
in the mirror
of memory
my young face
vanishing
like spring
snow
~ mimi