Chris Anderson Verse-Virtual 2016 October

October 2016

I live with my two dogs on the edge of the university research forest, where I walk everyday and think and pray. I have taught at Oregon State University since 1986 and have been a Catholic deacon since 1987. I have written a number of books, including two books of poetry. My second book of poems, THE NEXT THING ALWAYS BELONGS, was published in 2011 by Airlie Press. For more, see www.deaconchrisanderson.com.

Stardust

Once by a pond I watched cedar waxwings
swoop and stall, snatching insects. I’d never seen

so many before in one place. Their dark masks.
Their yellow-dipped tails. Later, evening.

Once in a meadow I lost my silver rosary.
A small one with a clasp, the kind a girl might wear.

But it wasn’t hard to find, the way it glittered
later in the grass like a string of tiny pearls.

Once at a funeral an old man slowly rose
and belted out Stardust. Teary-eyed. Quavering.

Oh memories of love! The purple dust of twilight
steals across the meadows of our hearts!

I really wasn’t expecting this. But after a while
I realized how beautiful life is, and sad.

Nothing is ever lost.
It’s always just somewhere else.

I Know Where This Goes

A scrap of spruce bark
exactly like a puzzle piece.

Two rounded edges
and a scoop.

I know where this goes.

A line of geese.
A burst of wind,

fanning the surface
of the bay.

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