Crawling towards the golden corner
Gramma at the fireside
Whirring of the clock on the mantel
Whistling of the north wind outside
As frost paints silver flowers on the glass
Gramma’s big grin beckons
To her outstretched arms
And your head drops on her shoulder
Softest pillow, no other compares
Snowball the white pomeranian
Barks and sheds his hairs
As you fade off to sleep unawares
Mist on the hill
What’s over there?
So you climb the fence
Stumble through the fog
Into the land of nowhere
Sudden sound above
A faltering wounded dove
That flits from branch to branch
Cooing its last breath
Till it falls to the ground below
A tear rolls down your cheek
Melting the patches of snow
Still remaining beneath
And another teardrop glistens
As the lark sits and listens
To your whispered whimpers
Dampness on your clothes
You reached for the rose
Twining round the trellis
Up and down the catherine wheel
And you didn’t mean to steal
But it was so very glowing
Red in the midst of gray
When you went out that morning
Into Gramma’s backyard to play
Now the wounds in your hands
Trickling blood from your palms
Reminds you of other thorns
Crowning saints’ heads begging alms
In that picture book inside
No place left to hide
You want to disappear
Down the dusty road
Or the dusky corridor
That golden corner of the picture
Where you, the bird, can finally soar
Easter Sunday
You and she
Set out past the daffodils
Searching for eggs
No map in hand
It’s more fun without one
Darting behind hedges
Peering within tree trunks
Like the rabbits
And then
A-ha!
I found one!
Robins chirping on the dewy grass
As you, like them, hopped past
Feet kicking up the worms
Hands flinging clods of dirt
Rounding golden corners of morning sunshine
Hurtling fast, like a flower, out of the earth
They found you
In the neighbor’s garden
Staring at stones
Content to stay there
For hours
All alone
Turning it round in your hand
As if in turning
You too will become stone
And Mother shakes you from your reverie
Daisies and dandelions in her hand
And she gives you a new white sphere
Exhales
You inhale and do the same
Whoosh!
The circle has exploded
Tiny white stars
Floating away down the neighborhood lanes
And you leave the neighbor’s garden for today
Time to go collecting in the creek
Mother guides you to the bottom
Where the oldest rocks stay
Where the water left long ago
Dried up as an apple sitting in the sun
Why is every rock gray?
Until the crack breaks
And your little jaw drops
A chalky sphere within
Same color as your skin
Rolls around between your fingers
And the sandy powder lingers
On the whirls in your fingertips
And a crazy laugh slips
Out from your pursed lips
And the fists that always grip
Loosen up
As you slide away
The fair is out today
School’s out for the summer
And a soft spring shower visits
Blue raincoat, red boots
You stomp through the puddles
Close your eyes
Running towards the skies
But always tripping
Over the cracks in the pavement
No problem
Now you know the secret
Golden corners require payment
That bird outside your window
Greets the warm dawn
So it’s time for you, as well
With magician’s robe on
Open the closet
Treasures be here
King’s sword does appear
Gather together the circle
Boys and girls scamper
Out of doors
Into the street
Out of the heat
Into the den to meet
Let the quest commence!
Jump over every fence!
No school anymore, so hence!
We shall conquer this neighborhood today
Tsk-tsk, you didn’t watch the clock
Evening came too soon
Cuts and bruises from your walk
To some faraway, distant dune
No reward when you return home
“Where have you been?!”
Punishment
Golden corners only last so long
Before they turn back into gray gutters
