they would steal the wind if they could
I heard a Jamaican lady say
in a voice like a silvery wind or
laughter over a sliver of light
she could make a poem out of anything I thought
and I thought maybe that's what the poets do
even without meaning to
steal moonlight, starbright
pappermint delight
from Christmas tide
the ruffle from the wave
skimming the cream off clouds
the refined honey of our days
the perfume palette of the roses,
old leaves, mold mixed with
new fern
everything I've learned.
everything I've tried to say.
the amber twinkling from the fossil bed
and the sap, the rings of trees.
mary angela douglas 2 october 2017
I heard a Jamaican lady say
in a voice like a silvery wind or
laughter over a sliver of light
she could make a poem out of anything I thought
and I thought maybe that's what the poets do
even without meaning to
steal moonlight, starbright
pappermint delight
from Christmas tide
the ruffle from the wave
skimming the cream off clouds
the refined honey of our days
the perfume palette of the roses,
old leaves, mold mixed with
new fern
everything I've learned.
everything I've tried to say.
the amber twinkling from the fossil bed
and the sap, the rings of trees.
mary angela douglas 2 october 2017
