First and Last
swept some dew
drop
diamonds
and put ‘em
in my pocket
pretending
it ain’t really
all that bad
picked up my magic
wand
and found a green
that accepts me
as i am
in the quiet
of a song
i listen and learn
wrote so many
in my mind
the moon split in half
one hangs high in the sky
the other fell flat
on its face
there’s always a price
a ransom
a deposit
some say love is free
methinks they never knew
love at all
or had a clue
an inkling
a grain
there was no weeping
in the willows
for not a one
of ‘em
as they stood in their shiny silver shoes
on the bank of the mountain
afraid of the mud
the muck
it is a soiled rotten wretched thing
to love
to let love take you
in such a way
as this
complete
people pick and choose
the parts of love
they like
and leave the rest
behind
nobody wants a dead rose
the fresh fragrance gone
the color drained from face
petals crumbling underfoot
it’s easy to admire a blooming beginning
not so much
the fallen flower
curled up
and gone
but the wind
in its wild ways
gave it its first breath
before it ever blossomed beauty
and ruffled its layers
sending its scent
into the ether
in the sway
the gentle sway
it let the flower rest
and rise
wipe its eyes
and when the petals
were too weak
to hold on
a moment more
the wind in its infinite wisdom
lifted each up
and carried ‘em
to the water’s edge
and let ‘em
find their way
in
and the water
sighed
in its ripples
reaching out
for it had been waiting
so long
all along
for the rose
to finally return
to its center
the center of its being
its becoming
its belonging
but first
it had to let go …
of the stem
it’d been clinging
and be fearless
to fall
a
w
a
y
TL