In Memory: Cheryl Gagnon
How have they flown?
Did they spiral upwards in a circle,
A cloud of wings aspiring?
Or, were they driven down
And outwards, the hurling fists
Of an animal madness?
What is this place bequeathed?
A wormy lair to snare
The most beautiful feather?
As if it were an old victrola’s voice box,
Here, song birds sang away their season.
Now, there is only a hush for us to hear it rain,
And know we are alone,
The descendants
Of those who have ascended.
Often, if ill-fated,
We are the survivors of their catastrophes.
We sift through inherited treasure
Searching for a talisman
To aid us in their absence.
We listen for an echo of their voices
In our conscience.
Let us tend to a world
So stricken with pain.
For now, for a moment,
May we finally know peace,
As we yet again look up to them,
To find who we are in them.
March 1st, 2012
Revision: March 5th-March 6th, 2014
July 14th, 2016
First Version
Beneath the roiling sky,
Beneath the trailing tentacles
Of stinging mist,
Its scarlet blooms diminish,
While its foliage ever greens.
Scurrying, here I duck
To seek a momentary shelter
From the maelstrom.
Dripping, but impervious to chill,
I peer inside the empty nest
That is this tree,
Then ponder.
How have they flown?
Did they spiral upwards in a circle,
A cloud of wings aspiring?
Or, were they driven down
And outwards, the hurling fists
Of an animal madness?
What is this place bequeathed?
A wormy lair to snare
The most beautiful feather?
Once, a Victrola’s voice box
For the nightingales’ madrigal,
Now, there is a hush for us to hear it rain
And know we are alone,
The descendants
Of those who have ascended.
Often, if ill-fated,
We are the survivors of their catastrophes.
We sift through inherited treasure
Searching for a talisman
To aid us in their absence.
We listen for an echo of their voices
In our conscience.
Let us tend to a world
So stricken with pain.
For now, for a moment,
May we finally know peace,
As we yet again look up to them,
To find who we are in them.
January 9th to January 16th, 2012
January 18th to January 20th 2012
January 22nd to January 25th, 2012
January 31st, 2012
July 14th 2016
stevengoldenpoetry 