Poem: The Unwinding

this thing I must do
when the door is closed,
the deadbolt turned
the workday world
a memory
when I have supped,
the cuppa brewed
and I, alone awake;
the night a curtain drawn
to hide the whispers
only I can hear, for I
the sole survivor of
the passing day
in silence stir
the stillness of
unuttered prayer
this candle lit
this incense burned
this tea a potion
given by this tired woman,
poured out libation
to the hungry creatures
of time that eat away
the sweetness of youth,
devouring the folly
of old mothers
held together by sheer
will, and Will herself,
the mother of my destiny
and father of my might

©15 June 2019

Image from: https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/enchantress-begins/

Poem: Night

Night

next to you, I'm counting sheep
the quiet kind with silent bleats
that chase away the howling wolves
a cacophony of silence
morning comes in brilliant rays
of sharpened light on rustling leaves
joyful birds sing up the sun as
nightbirds put the moon to bed
sleep well, my love, and dream of me
restless on the midnight sea
with waves of salt and thunder
when you awake I'll greet you there
where goddesses have gathered
eternal land where Earth meets Sky
and gods embrace the battle
but now, my love, I hope for sleep
I close my eyes and count the sheep
while you dream away the night
and softly snore beside me

© 6 May 2019

Poem: Barbara

She sought dreams, deferred

for children as they grew,

moved through early time

and space as if she never knew

that days could come and time

could go and dreams slip far away

her purpose came in rituals

for veterans where they play

at watering hole for memories

when soldiers' lives turn gray

and her own youth, she would recall

she also served, and then 

uniform turned wedding gown

and girlish dreams again

for mother's many stories

lost their lives in daily grind

stories birthed for children's dreams

no longer in her mind

 and mariner's deadly aim

of albatross and kubla khan

became our nightly game

her dreams oft never manifest,

though love she had was true

followed from ten thousand lakes

from sea to ocean blue

to end her dreams in desert nights

and winter's midday sun

with stories tucked inside her heart

for a new life soon begun

 (c)13 May 18 Mother's Day

Poem: Waxing

her cold reflection
of tomorrow's sunshine
tells a future in secret code
the rainbows in my eyes blind me
listening for the sacred words,
I hear night birds on the wing
the lonesome call of coyote;
this is still the desert, yet
no longer wilderness
it's hard to hear my breath,
to focus on the slow draw in,
silent exhale, repeat,
inhalation...
     expiration...
it's late and gibbous moon
reveals that tomorrow will come
perhaps, there will still be breath
and night birds to cast spells
in cackling magick words
I understand, but only
in my dreams

(c) 4.27.18

Poem: Mystic

Rendered holy by the sanctity of bath

She mends the seams of a new reality

Eyes closed, she sees the tears

In the fabric of time

Old songs upon ancient lips

Weary whispers of unknown hopes

Thread through the warp and weft

Of yesterday’s dreams

Slipping silently into a new baptism

She re-emerges, almost whole

A new creation

© 19 January 2018

Suzy Jacobson Cherry

Poem: Petrified

Moon Over Mesa, Pre-Dawn August 31, 2015
After the Rain

Lying in bed, lullaby of thunder;
The charge of lightning
Flashing brightly through
The desert skies, illuminating
Wise and foolish folk alike
There is no shame in dreaming
Of starlight passions, moonbeams
Hidden shyly behind these
Rain laden clouds --
Were I to stand outside
With arms outstretched
Head thrown back and hair
Dancing entangled in these
Wild winds, could I capture
The Power of those rolling
Rivers of mystic song?
With feet firmly planted
On arid ground, the thirst
Consumes, and I consider
Cupping hands to catch
The Waters of heaven, Living
Promises of lush and verdant
Eternity; no more yearning
For something just beyond reach
Some wild and wondrous thing
Unknown, not quite missed
But never fully forgotten, this
Thirst, some human thing
Will it, like these desert sands
Be left, barely touched,
Dry and parched or
Will it be washed away
In torrents, flash floods of
Aging appetites, leaving only
Memories of once verdant
Forests; ancient dead and
Petrified, beautiful desires

(c) 30 August 2015

Poem: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

If sleep should come
This whole night through
My dreams would surely
Come back to you
While I'm awake
I feel you near
Your body's warmth
Your touch so dear
I'll try again
To join you there
In lucid dreams
The water's fair
I close my eyes
I hear you sigh
Just as my spirit
Begins to fly...

(c) 15 August 2015

Haiku: Reveal

She breathes, wide awake
Unaware that the full moon
Sheds light on her dreams

 Poem (C) 2 June 2015, 3:26 a.m

Photo (c) 27 May 2015
Suzy Jacobson Cherry

 

Poem: Bucket List - Twenty-Nine of 30 #NaPoWriMo

The daydreams of another age
Refuse to remain packed
In dusty boxes in ancient attics
Hidden by the responsibilities
Of middle age and memories
A younger self packed and stacked
One upon the other, tightly.
We age; there is no escape
From spots and wattles
Deep set eyes and pouches
Placed from eye to hip, and
Bones that crunch with each step.
We age, and boxes fall,
Revealing dreams of yesteryear
Once remembered, nothing can
Squeeze them back in. Nothing
Can hide them. Revealed, they
Insist on attention: remember me!
What will we do? Make them come true?

Photo & Poem (c) 29 April 2015

Poem: Sleep - Third of 30 - NaPoWriMo

Sleep is a temporary life,
unsolved mystery
None understand the ways
of alternative living
Few recall the name of loved
ones passing through
New lives unbecoming
without colorful garb
Of awakened imaginings,
expectant angels in lonely heavens
Quietly awaiting the drop of a pin,
thousands dancing
To the music of another's dreams,
music of another time
The flutter of eyelids,
the sound of a sigh
Awake my sleeping spirit,
laughter the language
Of another one's cry

(c) 3 April 2015

Poem: August

August

One hundred degrees
And humid
Oppression, heavy
Shoulders slumped with
Summer’s weight
There is no diversion,
No distraction from the 
Sting of flies stopping for
A drink from human arm
Drenched, the itch of
Dripping perspiration
Imagine wading
Through tepid algae waters
Everglade grasses wisp
Across ankles, invisible,
Reminiscent of spiders kissing
Bare skin, clothing undesirable
While simmering, sweltering
In this desert sun, dream
Of surf-sprayed sands,
Fruited libation a silent companion
A book, a story, a love imagined
Breeze blows, wisps of hair,
Convection oven hot
Reverie broken, hope builds
Only in mountainous clouds,
Dust wall approaching,
Lightning flashing in the distant sky

© 4 August, 2014

Poem: Iris

Haiku: Lucidity

Seeking lucid dreams

Closed eyes against moon's pearl light

Stepping into dark

(c) 11 October 2011