Naked branches shorn of green
tremble in the winter wind,
buds closed yet full of life
turned upward in the morning sky
while below the work of birth continues,
dark earth and root gathering
for the rise and sail of leaf.

Awakening from the dream
shadows resolve,
turbulence recedes,
treasuries of the heart
in kindness gold,
sweet incense forgiving
and peace within a stable shed
resting on a bed of hay.

I sit within the arc of aging
strong with the weight
of years in silence,
worn to round
like a rock against the sea.
Tides of gain and loss
shaping and reshaping
while below the surface
star fish brilliant
breathe in water,
turning salt and sea
to light.

The tiny bird breaking shell
makes a cry for food and air
with furious faith in what she needs.
Hearing her across the water
from deep within the forest
I enter dark to find her,
hands empty, feet afraid
of stirring branch and netted moss,
my only gift poetic dreams
that sound upon life’s trembling web
to feed her hunger and clothe her naked body
in the silken plumage I imagine
with ravishing love.

Undulating like ocean waves
messages from heart to heart
weave a web across the world
trembling our frames of bone and skin,
the desire to create burning like fire
on the altars of our hidden love.

Heartbeat continues
in the rain sound,
the sputtering stove
and inner breath
across the arc
from me to you
in the rich field
where all we are
remains forever green
and ready for harvest.