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Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Red Berry Love



You May Not Have All of Me


Luscious red berries wait for the cedar waxwings
to swoop down and gobble them up
to strip the branches bare of berries
like I wait for you to swoop down and gulp
me up like a lukewarm latte, not delicious
perhaps but finished off, the cup stripped bare

Yellow sycamore leaves fall like a congregation
of large butterflies fluttering from the sky
one after another tumbling down in its last dance
before landing on the grass in final repose
The lawn wears a yellow blanket of leaves
and I wait for you to tire of them, to roar
your several engines designed to suck up
dead butterflies because you cannot stand the mess

The red berries are safe from the bushwhacker,
waiting for the cedar waxwings who are late
this year, because the fence protects the shrubs
from your finishing touch, your need for order
and finality. I love you but the wild things
tumbling in my heart cry out against you,
you finisher of things blind to butterflies

You take me lukewarm and swallow the last
drop, not to waste a moment or a latte,
tolerant of my imperfections, loving me
despite the wild things making messes
in our house, our yard, in the mental ward
I wait for you to tire of me as surely you must
when your desire for order overcomes your lust
for the red berries in my heart, untouchable
beyond the fence and safe until the waxwings
come

18 comments:

Just Be Real said...

Very beautiful and meaningful. Blessings to you. Thank you.

the walking man said...

I would like to hear you read this piece in particular. I would like to hear the cadence your voice puts to it and see if it matches the one my mind reads it with. That would be a good day.

Shadow said...

what a sync with nature, chris. this is stunning!!!

Anonymous said...

Accepting you for who you are... despite all the differences. This is so very beautiful, Chris!

Tall Kay said...

I read this a couple of times and got something else from it each time. Very beautiful poem with a deep meaning. You're amazing!

big Jenn said...

Rambling latte thoughts.jeNN

Brian Miller said...

you take me luke warm and swallow the last drop...wow. this one is filled with such vivid imagery and emotion...delicious.

Susie Hemingway said...

Beautiful rather profound thoughts here in this poem to be enjoyed by all who read, wonderful, Thank you

My anthology was published last week and is now selling worldwide and available via my http://www.susiehemingway.com blog
fifty poems of love with proceeds going to Mutiple Myeloma.

Anonymous said...

I love the levels of this poem. Like dipping your hand into a stream and then finding the unexpected glancing of a fish off your hand. Beautiful.

Kat Mortensen said...

Blew me away, Chris!
Loved the interweaving of the threads with the berries, the birds and the bushwhacker.
How could anyone tire of YOU?

Rosaria Williams said...

Oh my, this pulls at me and then plants a big wallop. Love the tension, the imagery.

Enchanted Oak said...

Last minute report, Tuesday morning: Heard the leaf blower fire up. Ran out and begged the bushwacker not to blow away my leaves. Agreed to compromise: Blow away the leaves on the sidewalk but leave the leaves on the lawn. Came back into my office. Looked up and saw the first flock of cedar waxwings! They fluttered down like falling leaves to feast on the red berry bushes. Talk about synchronicity!
Thank you for your kind remarks about this poem. God's natural world just blows me away.

RNSANE said...

What a beautiful and eloquent poem. I am afraid none of mine are that good! Thank you for stopping by my blog. I miss being down in your area since my son graduated from Cal Poly. At least I do have an annual meeting at the Cliffs Hotel every Spring unless it becomes too expensive for the CA Sexual Assault Investigators meeting. We always enjoy our time there.

Julie said...

So very beautiful! I love the flow of the voice (and the music). But I mainly love what it says. What is it with people and lawns? I've even seen people out in the country waste an entire Saturday with leaf blowers. All around them the woods and fields are beautifully covered with leaves, but their one acre is raked clean...and dull. I'm glad you got to see the cedar waxwings. What a lovely moment. Thanks for a wonderful poem!

Joanne Olivieri said...

Love the latte metaphor and excellent poem.

Karen said...

The way you tie these disparate images together is masterful! I don't think he can tire of you, so varied, so interesting! No, my guess is that you enrich his life in ways you can't even know.

Dianne said...

Synchronicity.
I was mourning missing my writing group today,and had a change in my work schedule that will allow me to join them next week!
And looking forward to our readings on public radio tomorrow at 4:30!

Scott M. Frey said...

wowza! I too would enjoy hearing you read this one!