Friday, October 25, 2013

deliverance...




let the rattle of shame
wind down like a cricket
whose season is done

let the sound of it wane
in the thicket of weeds
where it had begun

let the feel of it dull
like the thorn of a rose
beside a rock wall

let us answer no more
to the desperate sound
of its ebbing call

let shame be the wild child
that we let run away
from our hopeful nest

let us labor no more
to secure that sere bird
a snug place to rest...

Lucy Meskill

dependability...




The noise of the world
--the ebb and flow of current events--
tries to wrestle the steering wheel
of our car away from us
and drive it.
It takes concentration
an agile mind
with steady hands
--at two and ten--
to look and listen,
to notice and steer...

Lucy Meskill

Thursday, October 10, 2013

posture and eye contact...




A squirrel's teeth
grow on average
about six inches per year.
Squirrels need to gnaw
and process hard things,
with soft things inside them,
every single day.
A diet of only nut meats
offers no bounty
to a mouth full of
dangerously overgrown teeth.
The human brain
thinks around 50,000
thoughts in a day,
the majority of which
are insignificant.
It is important
to try and pierce the shell
of certain observations
with the teeth
of understanding,
and the bright enamel
of critical thought.
Clarity, accuracy,
relevance, consistency,
completeness, fairness,
and logical correctness,
all of which are healthy,
especially when metered
with a propensity for
loving others,
the practice of
smelling flowers,
the desire for
petting animals,
the wonder of
watching insects,
the joy of spotting
teapots in thunderheads,
and the thrill of
contemplating air.

Lucy Meskill











Tuesday, October 8, 2013

love...






here's how it starts
it starts as a warning
a small light broadcast
by a ship far out at sea

here's how it continues
it continues like salvation
at velocity an action
that sets the spirit free

here's how we endure it
we endure it by surrender
by wading through stagnation
while willing it to be

here's how it saves us
it saves us thru connection
by tethering our cargo
to another's by degree

here's why we do it
we do it as it thrills us
and partners our deficiencies
with strengths we do not see

forged and relinquished
made to last and squandered
a gladdening rejoinder
to a universal plea...

Lucy Meskill

Sunday, October 6, 2013

sacrament...




On the evening
that indigo velvet
wed mulberry moire
clouds were born
in the west,
that bottom lit
by receding amber,
broke the heart
of every earthly eye
that had, on that day,
the simple luck
of looking up...

changeling...




Barely,
sometimes
replaced
by barley
in a sentence
hardly ever
takes heed of
the affront.
Of the noun
in its place
scarcely
disapproving
whilst only just
taking notice
the adverb exhibits
such multitudes
of grace...