The World is Mud and Light

My surprising tiger lilies or naked ladies rising up in September.

***
A THREAD OF LIGHT XI. October 13, 2013

For Sharon Ewing

I wanted immunity.  “Not if you want
to sing words that call old turtles up
onto a log to stretch their necks out.
Not if you want to wake up throaty peepers,
set them shrilling in their muddy nests.
Not if you would learn to soothe the ache
in branches still alive, which ice has
cruelly snapped and left for dead.  You
could not comfort these if you warded off
the mud that plunges you toward grief
and leaves the taste of ashes on your
tongue.  “Remember: the world is
nothing else.  Just mud and light. –Beaver Soul 6.

Living takes more work now.  Coasting,
which I knew didn’t work, is out of
the question.  There will be creaks
in my knees, cramping in my feet, 
more effort needed to keep my balance–
annoying, but nothing drastic.  My
heart, lungs, digestion, mind work
fine.  Some normal forgetfulness,
but I compensate, check for typos,
wait for words to rise from the
mysterious depths where they’ve
lodged themselves.  A larger helping
of courage is required, and I can’t 
get enough love.  My wisdom was in
those words: "Ask everything; expect
nothing.”  I may wish but must
remember how little I control.  Yet
people reach out, remind me that
I still spin light, reassure me that
some days we simply walk the path 
we chose.  Rewards find us if we 
pay attention.  The eager interest
of a listener after I’ve read words 
about love; a friend who took the
time to study my poems carefully
and articulate her finds.  She calls 
me a “maker” of my poems’ world, 
and says “our world is richer for the
making.”  I may fear rejection and
sometimes find it part of my daily 
bread, but such gifts do come, yes,
out of the blue, adding worth to the 
daily work of summoning all my
courage and common sense, 
bringing fresh solace 

to my hungry soul.

***
Beaver Soul is still available from me for $13 with tax, or $16 with postage, and from www.finishinglinepress.com

December 1, 2014, This River: An Epic Love Poem will be available for $14 from me, $15 with tax and $18 if postage or from www.WildEmbers.com