“waking day”
*
sounds of sunlight
blending with whispering trees
bending to a laughing breeze
yawning flowers
gently nudge sleepy morning
from twilight slumber
their fragrant voices
diamond starbursts
dancing from dew drops
to a lilting tune
and the song of waking day
©tlh 6/16/13
October 1, 2012 “gold”
***
silhouettes of crows cawing
at the hunting hawk
scattering songbirds from thistle and bush
into the blue sky of autumn
gold autumn
crisp, sharp, gold, autumn
the westing sun flows gold
to the edges of the valley
shimmering trees of gold
leaves, glittering flecks of gold
in silence break free from bowing branches
casting themselves gently upon a river
reflections of gold mountains
and trees and leaves
and air painted gold by the sun
the distant crow caws
at the hunting hawk
the blue sky
the gold earth
and autumn
©tlh 10/1/12
“born a Southerner”
***
it’s one of those evenings
thick, heavy, nearly liquid
familiar in the south
to folks down here
lying languid beneath magnolia and mimosa blossoms
and a colorless low hanging sky
straining with distant thunder to release cooling rain
a handful of drops at a time
scattered by a teasing breeze
a yellow moon and steam
rises off still warm fields and tarred gravel roads
the din of a million jarflies drowns the song
of the mockingbird and the whippoorwill
the phwup, phwup, phwup of a back-porch ceiling fan
offers relief
not from heat
but from night bugs
I crunch another ice cube
it melts on my tongue
I’m at peace
and thankful
to be born a Southerner
©tlh 9/4/2012
***
pencils and pens
standing on ends
some down
some up
in an old pewter cup
leads are broken and dull
ink leaked and dried
like forgotten flowers
petalless in a vase
stems all askew and aside
neglected poems and letters
unwritten beginnings and ends
love stories untold
left in a cupful of pencils and pens
© tlh 8/8/2012
“june bug”
*
june bug buzzing to and fro and to
like he’s wandering crazy without a clue
of where he’s going or what to do
when he arrives
if he does keep his buzz
buzzing and that hum humming
as he circles and dives
risking the lives of himself and the others
his june bug brothers
bumbling and tumbling
in the humbling heat of southern july
the june bug dodges through wavering mirages
in a constant veer
a wild career
staying right side up out of the grass
and out ahead
of a lad or lass with nimble fingers
and a length of thread
©tlh 7/7/2012
June 1, 2012 “flood”
*
flood
from a thousand places
a storm traces its way into a river
heavy clouds of darkness bursting
weeping torrents
sweeping
pieces of lives and lives in pieces
torn and tumbling between the groaning banks
to be thrown back into the boiling fray
water rushing under too many bridges
in time
soon lost and too far away
in the turmoil flowing
away
away
while life stands still in the rain
©tlh 6/1/12
***
daughter to father
is sunrise in the gloaming
golden beam of light
morning glory awaking
as dew drops glisten
lavender breezes blowing
beneath a blue sky
soft sounds of songbirds singing
to the yellow sun
fields of wildflowers blooming
blossoms of laughter
gentle rain on verdant hills
sweet water of life
©tlh 4/20/12
“evening”
.
as I reclined on the porch
watching the mountains
relax from green into purple
evening sidled up on a gentle breeze
wearing pale coral and azure
with the fragrance of springtime
.
she softly slipped into the old chair next to me
left vacant by the setting sun
in the heat of day
she breathed a quiet sigh
of feathery clouds
and cherry blossom
.
we sat for a while in silence
contented to listen
to a mockingbird wooing his love
and a chorus of spring peepers
serenading down by the creek
we spoke not a word in our peaceful repose
.
serenely as she arrived
she arose to leave
as she went she asked
“shall I get the lights?”
I nodded sleepily
night fell to the rising moon
I slept
tlh 3/20/12
“hushed”
(on the passing of my mother)
*
a light has gone out
.
the candle that glowed in the window
is burned down to grey smoke
spiriting toward heaven
.
the path darkened
the way unlit
the door is closed
and the chair empty
the hearth no longer warm
the blush faded from the rose
.
muted is love’s comforting voice
beneath folds of white
and soft closed eyes
laughter is hushed
.
in a brighter heaven
we are greater for knowing that star
the world lesser without it
.
tlh 1/24/11
“winter’s reign”
*
cold gray
bleeds from a lurid sky
trickling
over boney skeletons of black trees
standing
in murky pools of dead earth
and winter’s reign
tlh 1/17/11
Sincerely, Tracy
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