Fog Grey
Blanket of Fog
down the valley grows the greenest grass
but you'd never know it at dawn
the fog swims upriver like salmon
taking apart the view into fuzzy shapes
and then nothingness far as I can see
the big river keeps her secrets
takes everyone else's, gives nothing back
til the fog burns off
taking old stories with it
leaving fresh green growth behind
Rolling Thunder
her hips swinging
footsteps ringing on stone
like distant thunder
humming in her throat
Flash of Lightning
In the dark I couldn't see myself
A relief, to hide with the shades down
from the pounding in my head,
to remove my steel-boned armor
and release the charms and still feel
like I am myself without them.
Xe is lightning crashing,
startling me like a slamming door
and for a second I am sure xe sees me
as light flashes and flees.
The image of hir is fixed on my eyes
so xe seems impossibly far, still,
when hir fingers trace my jaw.
They go still, almost trembling.
Now, naked and fearless,
it is my turn to strike.
Clear Blue Sky
not even a hazy shape
allowed to drape sideways
no birds mistaken for
the one I've forsaken
the empty sky looms blue
as kingfisher plumes
forgotten as clouds left
behind, bereft as shrouds
Furious Rain
I closed eyes I should not have; night fell
I felt weighed down, tired, my fight fell
What's lost can't be spoken in mere sounds
No breath or heartbeat as midnight fell
That self abandoned for survival
Too quick as the meteorite fell
The higher perfection of home lost
To petty grasping as my sight fell
None would come close to rescue us here
The would not recognize how spite fell
Ichor has become ink and sweet words
On the page where my candlelight fell
You curse me, Chenek, without knowing
How long and far I from a height fell
Raging Winds
I fell once
I still fall in my dreams
I wake up gripping my sheets so tight
I might as well have rope burns
I'm still falling
I'm not sure when
I'm grabbing at handholds or if
I'm only falling faster
I've fallen
I've no good explanation
I've only got crutches and goals
I've made that enough
Withering Drought
The sun has baked this shore into glass shards streaked with red footprints
Slowly the bay fled back into safer depths where darkness falls
I cannot wake from this endless day; I do not remember night
Wave of Heat
pages gone
brittle, flake apart
as kindling
ready to
go up; watch one potential
become another
Nip of Frost
frost on a teacup
gently swirling among leaves
in a window's sun
Winter Chill
my grandfather disapproves of many things
with a raised finger and intake of breath
and eyes like an early frost
when you haven't brought in the tomatoes
he does not care for:
lax cleaning standards
incorrect measurements
the limitations of an aging body
the stiffness brought on by winter mornings
substitutions in alchemical formulae
mistakes made at two am
when time is short and
it's none of his business anyway
cold tea
free verse poetry
and disrespectful responses to assignments
Pounding Typhoon
a sky in sickly green
clouds gathering to spread rumors
iron tongue in my mouth
the wind shouts past me; I won't move
pale blossoms will collapse
under the driving sheets of rain
remaining carved in stone,
I will not move, though the best try
Fast as a Tornado
a flood comes slowly, taking a handspan and then another
gains momentum and before you realize your toes are wet
there's hands grabbing you down into the dark waters
a tornado comes fast, but time stops when it touches down
everything you know flies away from you in splinters
you watch it crumble but you can't move to stop it
a blizzard can't make up its mind, creeping in until you blink
it's so white you don't know you've opened your eyes
the road is gone; home is gone; warmth is gone too
Earthquake Weather
sky so red I can only see it with one eye
silence thicker than a power failure
the view from here is higher than I've been in years
I used to climb trees and think
I was so terribly clever because no one looked up
but looking down just gets you a sore neck
my battery blinks low as the light fades
I'm draining everything I've got to stay a step ahead
there's no charging sockets here, too dangerous
shadows on the window remind me there are people above me
the glass vibrates with their footsteps
the hair on the back of my neck is standing
when I was in the trees I never looked up either
Cool Mist
condensation on a glass
ice melting in a cravasse
misty morning wet with dew
relief comes from touching you
Wall of Humidity
this time of year it's too damp
for the forge to dry the air
his sweat hangs on his skin
he shakes like he's throwing something off
hammers like he's nailing demons to the floor
pumps the bellows like they're his lungs
I can't breathe for him
I bring sun tea and lunch
gentle reminders of limits
I worry one day he'll throw those off too
then he'll be lost to me
like any other djinn or angel
with a fiery heart and no earth
to ground him in the Lady's chapel
or my garden or his forge
or my arms or his fears
I control my own breath
as long as the anvil rings his heartbeat
I can stay beside him