Circus

Be a poet-acrobat.

Let the words balance you
into a handstand
roll you swiftly, gracefully
across the expansive mat.

Let the words swing you,
parallel, uneven
from arms of sky.

Let the words toss you
from rings into ring.

Keep moving to the music.
Your heart and your words
connected to the motion,
the breath of the earth.

(c) 2010 Cecilia Reid Driscoll

Because of the Infinite Possibilities

i go from link to link
opening, discovering
new things of beauty.
tonight, birds
chords of a favorite song
Shakespearean rhyme,
photographs from travelers.

i traveled once or twice
was lost, and found a different way.

yesterday when they asked
what i wanted for my birthday
i said: something hidden.
something to open. a surprise.

(c) 2010 Cecilia Reid Driscoll

Cooking and Cleaning

A poem is a pot

to mix metaphors in.

Dangle a preposition

if it helps the rhythm.

Stretch your grammar,

but not past comfort.

Listen, lean and learn

to bring the rhyme closer.

Look at the images

through a telescope,

a periscope,

a magnifying glass,

a prism.

Throw them up in the air.

Try to catch the bright ones,

the right ones when they fall.

At first, you planned a stew,

words simmered slowly

over the burner of deliberation,

until all the ingredients

embraced and held

and learned to love each other.

Warm and rich and wholesome.

But today, you decide on a salad,

where every image, every word

can shine and slide with

the oil of connections,

yet keep the tang

of its own salty sweetness.

And it'll be ready fast.

Take that pot off the stove.

Toss everything

into the open bowl on the table.

Eat immediately with your bare hands.

Don't forget to lick your fingers.

(c) 2010 Cecilia Reid Driscoll

Thanks to all of you who made it here to read this poem today! I am adjusting my life to the work-a-day world and finally happened to fit in some of my own writing. I am wondering if my priorities are in order...of course they are! But I so appreciate having writing in my life.

By the way, I am becoming a (fairly) faithful daily reader at Poem Farm - such rich food for the heart and soul. Thank you, Amy!

One to Two, Just Asking

Today is 10/10/10 day.

I don't know what to do.

It should be something special.

It should be something new.

Three perfect tens, three bases run,

so many ways to see.

Or if you speak "computer,"

Three twos, in binary.

No matter how your brain's arranged,

One-zero's in to play.

We could be triple-magical.

So hey-what do you say?

(c) 2010 Cecilia Reid Driscoll

Life Riddle

If fun was work

and work was fun,

would you want to

get work done?

Frustrated folks

may envy you.

Would you mope

the way they do?

Or would you care

and share the light?

Keep the promise

in your sight?

Life always gives -

time, treasure, skill.

And simple choices.

As you will.

(c) 2010 Cecilia Reid Driscoll

Ode to Stone

Open your eyes.

Look closely.

Open your ears.

Listen through my years.

I am the older brother,

the grandfather,

the man-in-the-moon.

I am the railroad track,

the sled runners,

the highway.

I am the sturdy roof and walls,

keeping out intruders,

wild animals,

heat and cold.

I am the hearth,

the circle that holds the fire,

the circle around which you gather,

with marshmallows and stories.

You mine me for my best qualities,

refine me,

put me to work where I am needed.

Heat and pressure and time

often make me more beautiful,

stronger, more complex.

For the most part, I am quiet.

I am rarely perfect,

but crystal glories may hide inside me.

When I am older, broken, small,

children pick me up from streams,

find me in fields of green and gold.

Sometimes they tell me their dreams.

When those of short lives carve me,

or make their mark on me,

I am still who I am.

I am here to serve.

I am red, I am beige, I am black. I am gold.

I can build or break down.

I am the source of mountains and mighty legends,

living giants, teachers, protectors of the North.

I am the path and the cave,

the foundation, the crust,

soft at the ultimate core.

I am the bridge and the wall.

I am here to serve.

(c) 2010 Cecilia Reid Driscoll

Midnight Pantoum

When the writing's so exciting
it's so very hard to sleep.
Thoughts like seabirds keep alighting
flying high and diving deep.

It's so very hard to sleep.
Mini pen with flashlight tip
flying high and diving deep -
taking notes at rapid clip.

Mini pen with flashlight tip
the most necessary tool,
taking notes at rapid clip
as kids learn in middle school.

The most necessary tool -
take an open, quiet mind.
As kids learn in middle school,
words would flow as stars aligned.

Take an open, quiet mind.
Thoughts like seabirds keep alighting.
Words would flow, as stars aligned.
Then the writing's so...exciting!

(c) 2010 Cecilia Reid Driscoll