Friday, August 20, 2010

"Of Shelter and Rain"


Outside,
it rains very Hard
and Earthbound Water falls
upon a defiant Winter Garden.

Inside,
it rains even Harder
but I sail adrift on the idea
of what Hard Rain falling
awakens in Me.

Descending drumbeat
elixir, that through Water,
striking and luminescent,
unlocks the Portal possibility
to a Soul's desired Reflection.



So under this long awaited flood,
YOU finally appear….
and through bittersweet
shades of Twilight,
I venture beyond
grand fortress windows
and let YOU in.

Over heavenly wet Earth,
We finally move,
and like raw Silk,
I breathlessly yield,
to the thirst quenching
Splendour, of this
one, final Surrender.

The grand torrent Rain
suddenly stops, but
with waterproof Skin,
drenched and filled
in the warm deepening
Afterglow of YOU,
it dawns on Me,
that if only under the Spell
of this Rain induced Reverie,
Together,
We might be
Shelter.

New Orleans, 2007

Saturday, August 14, 2010

"In Flight"

And I,
the phoenix,
from earthly
flames of consumption,
fly undaunted
into welcoming sky
                                     I am
the keeper
of Mysteries,
and the teller of Truths,
flying while knowing,
of scorching sun



Published 2004, La Rosa Blanca






Thursday, August 12, 2010

"Ode to the Cantabric Sea"


The Voice
of the World
speaks to Me,
in wondrous places
by the Sea


Seductive distraction
of water’s lull,
briefly resting
on sand clad shores,
arriving in concert
with salted wind,
echoing lyrics
already past.


The Seaglass Memories
of Poems,
yet to be written,
of sacred places
by the Sea.


Santander, Spain 2004

"Flower"




I am

A Warm Winter
In a Cool Summer,

A Collection of Contradictions
In a Gallery of Answers,

A Slow Moving Train
In a Fast Moving World

A Silent Flower
In a Garden of Laughter

Published 2004, La Rosa Blanca



Tuesday, August 10, 2010

"Prayer"

Mother Moon,
Fill me with Light of Inspiration
Blessed Wisdom of Time and Spirit

Father Sun,
Endow me with Strength and Courage
Faithful Companions to Journeys of the Soul

Sister Star,
Guide me through Dark Nights of Contemplation
Shatter Illusory Foundations and Build Me up again

Brother Sky,
Wash me with Renewing Drops of Morning Rain, then paint a Rainbow to Remind Me of Love

Published 2004, MiPo Gallery, the Water issue

Friday, August 6, 2010

"Island"

     Beware Conquistador,
     who travels from afar,
     eyeing elusive island
     with lust of acquisition.
     For elegant promises
     yield no gold, nor
     triumphant blood
     of impending conquest.

     Irreverent mountains
     profess scant welcome,
     for faithless intruders
     of imperialistic gleam.
     Watery words shatter
     upon reefs of disillusion,
     for a Body, the pearl,
     of no man's Caribbean.
    
     Defiant forests guard
     alchemical secrets,
     archetypical monuments
     of spiritual ancestry.
     Resisting colonization
     by trespassing foreigners,
     those pillaging plunderers
     of transcendent soul.

     Yet on deep shores
     rests, the valiant vessel,
     in timeless pursuit
     of elevation and meaning.
     Compelling skyward journeys
     above ocean floor treasures,
     sailing in concert,
     around restorative sun.
    
     But beware Conquistador,
     who travels very far,
     see, possessive desires extinguish
     dreams of Flight.
     For a spirited island,
     belongs to no one.
     Not even to,
     the emancipating Sky.



Published 2003, the LSR Review

"Louisiana Sunday Afternoon"

Melancholic oak
welcomes the wind--
purple rippling surface barely
moves me,
but a cold heat stifles.

A bird’s sudden flight
signals a warning--
and smoldering clouds announce
it is far too late

A friendly smile tells me what I need to know—
that a hot Lousiana rain is about to break.

Carrollton Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, June 2004

"Of Childhood, Memory & the Florida Keys"


                                                    With the Wind,
she blew through the trees--
Girl of wild hair and enchanted imagination,
barehandedly catching grounded butterflies
for release into the Sky.

With the Earth,
she built a small home--
A wooden enclave within a sheltering forest,
where raccoons partook of stories and tea,
and a choir of ladybugs kept Time.

With the Ocean,
she believed in mystery--
Discovered places beneath the surface
housing authentic essence of life, and
sustaining secrets of Surrender.

With the Moon,
she dreamt of a timeless Love--
that would find her, and She him,
in a dance with the soul of the world and
truth found among the Stars

With her Birds,
she learned of life’s impermanence—
How wings coveted broken,
scar spirits, enticing fragile hearts
to seek comfort in Flight

With her Books,
she understood the rhythm of words--
and She, unwitting sister of Daphne,
found a voice for this silent world,
and as a Woman, gave birth to its
laurel leafed Song.

Published 2004, MiPo Gallery, the "Water" Issue

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

INTRODUCTION: Why the name?


I have been writing poems since I was 15, but the title of this web log, "Of Fiery Places and Sacred Spaces" refers to the name of a collection of poems I have written about life based on geography; the poetics of astonishing spaces without, and wondrous places within.  


Though our preconceived ideas about geography mentally take us to spaces of land, through poetry, we may also navigate places within the intricate and delicate cartography of the human body and mind.  This collection of rhythmic words and ideas thereby represents a sort of tapestry based on location, sometimes sacred, but always inspiring, and body and mindscapes, always warm, and sometimes fiery.  Through the medium of poetry, I explore physical and spiritual movement, and the outer and inner journeys of the body and mind.


In addition to poems written and those yet to come upon the Grace of the sporadically visiting Muse, I shall also endeavour to document impressions of life, lived and viewed through a poetically synaesthetic lens.  

waiting for Rain in New Orleans,
amy