Sunlight and Shadows

Finding poetry in star dust, sunbeams, and passing clouds

  • Buttercup

    Sunshine gold feathers fanning delicately

    Cloud-like poofs of great pillowy down

    Vibrant eyes reflecting the green world

    Rosy comb pinnacled in a crystalized crown

    Sun breaking, hens stir on the 2×4 roosts

    Eagerly tumble out when the door starts to rise

    Chirrup over bits of corn, calling unseen chicks

    Fuss over egg laying like each was a prize

    Afternoons spent exploring the green thatchy lawn

    Dust baths in the barn dirt, bugs in the garden

    Snuggling and purring in my lap being petted

    Sneaking into the mudroom when the door is left open

    First on the roost at dusk, evening call

    Cluck and squawk and settle together for nightfall

    That was Buttercup, my dear golden hen

    ,

  • Trapeze

    Walking on a bridge so high

    Finding footholds in the sky

    So much to lose, so far to fall

    But not crossing will lose it all

    Sunset light is fading fast

    Don’t know how long time will last

    Thin tangled railings line the way

    That must be crossed here, now, today

    On this bridge I only see

    The churning water under me

    I can’t see, but still I know

    That there are strong supports below

    They’re grounded in the solid rock

    And to the shore they safely dock

    So I have no need to dread

    If I will keep my eyes ahead

    Looking back in clearer skies

    I see the trapeze crystalize

    To form a backdrop, solid ridge

    That guides me on to the next bridge

    ,

  • Pressure

    On the edge of an explosion

    So much packed down now inside

    Tiptoe by to keep it quiet

    Push it forward, let it slide

    Too many words to decipher

    Too much meaning I can’t decode

    But it’s pressing, moving faster

    Taking me down some unknown road

    Unfamiliar, overwhelming

    Trying to sort out what is real

    Too good, too bad to know for sure

    Too much judged now by how I feel

    There is a way to sort it out

    To let the facts and feelings fit

    Pass through without an explosion

    Find peace within, inside of it

    ,

  • Heartbreak

    A broken hope of taken dreams

    The loss of worlds we make in dreams

    The truth I thought that I could trust

    Turned out be mistaken dreams

    The world is crumbling round my heart

    I fall beneath my shaken dreams

    I vow to never dream again

    Bury the past’s forsaken dreams

    My heart stands fast, will not let go

    Its broken shards awaken dreams

    ,

  • Shoreline

    Cobwebs and petals suspended in time

    Caught in the rocks where the water can’t reach

    Waiting for something – someone to pass by

    New footprints in old, once more on the beach

    Footsteps of people traversing through time

    Following memories out on the pier

    A past child wading to sail wooden boats

    Feel that child’s hopefulness, helplessness, fear

    The past’s chilling winds blow strong off the bay

    Hold on, let it pass, do not be knocked down

    The clouds blow away, the sunshine breaks through

    Face toward the warmth and let healing be found

    The lighthouse stands strong, so timeless and sure

    Changeless no matter the darkness or rain

    Guiding the travelers to present from past

    Look up now to find the direction again

    ,

  • Walls

    An avalanche of endless walls

    Everywhere I turn

    So many climbs, so many falls

    Will I ever learn

    A false façade of fake success

    Tempts me to keep on

    All hollow – break through and regress

    Just another con

    How bleak life looks if there’s no hope

    To escape these walls

    Reduced each day to try to cope

    With the pain of falls

    But there is still a lifeline rope

    Listen when He calls

    ,