December 2020
Bio Note: As the winter months approach, I am grateful for family, living and in memory;
the warmth of my nest, the trees that surround it, and that so many birds have been coming to our feeder.
Also grateful for the community of poets, and for Zoom making it possible to attend so many readings and discussions!
Nettie’s Robe
It hangs loose and billowy
colors pushing at the edge of garish;
a strange meeting of delicate and bold.
If not for hook and gravity, it could waft away,
a floral apparition.
Silky body-draping fabric; paisley-like leaves curved and curly;
fabric covered buttons; the sleeve hems have fallen,
robbing them of shape.
An intricate floral pattern conjures subtle whiffs of perfume;
one can almost imagine the bouquet.
Odd this floaty robe is left to remind me of my paternal Grandmother.
Short, full figured, she was anything but ephemeral.
As a young child, I sensed strength.
Rock solid opinions rooted in unwavering morality.
A small woman; a large heart.
Firm engulfing hugs established soft security,
promising expansive yet weighty, certain,
Love.
Gifts
My mother gave me Joan Baez
and now my son has her too.
What an incredible gift.
That soaring voice, from her younger years,
rings out like a crystal bell
propelled by the heart.
When song leaves her breast,
it becomes a new force in the universe;
for clarity, for poignancy;
for the human spirit expressed.
How wonderful this can be shared;
tapped into at will.
I keep early Baez
in my deepest pocket.
Pulled out in need, or simply desire,
she always delivers.
On the Day Before Mother’s Day, It Snows
Today it snows on the Blue Jay’s nest;
still, there she sits.
In a cup of twigs she helped to build,
her soft warm belly’s become its lid.
Brooding now; nothing will unsettle
her from this calling.
Magic time. Selfless time.
Creation time.
Soon, Jay’s eggs will hatch;
fledgelings find their way…
all because today,
through blowing wind and flakes that swirl
into May’s barely budding leaves,
she stays, determined and true.
©2020 Marjorie Moorhead
Editor's Note: If this poem(s) moves you please consider writing to the
author (email address above) to tell him or her. You might say what it is about the poem that moves you. Writing to the author is the beginning of community at Verse Virtual.
It is very important. -JL