The ancient alchemists
would stand in awe
of forests transformed
into gold.
The ancient alchemists
would stand in awe
of forests transformed
into gold.
The more she wrote, the louder the stories seemed to grow, swirling in her mind, pressing against her head, anxious for release. She didn’t know whether they were any good and in truth she didn’t care. They were hers, and writing them made them real somehow. Characters who’d danced around inside her mind grew bolder on the page. They took on new mannerisms she hadn’t imagined for them, said things she didn’t know they thought, began to behave unpredictably.
Kate Morton The Forgotten Garden p. 326
They speak of gifts
from former lovers:
vases
or black eyes,
rings
or babies.
They carry
former intimacies:
horrors and tragedies
traumas and ecstasies.
I have no
former lover,
I carry only
years with you;
no horrors mar our history,
just monogamous longevity–
our effort at ontogeny.
.
.
(Definition of ontogeny here) 😉
Her smile
has spinnerets,
shoots invisible strands
that stick to your eyes,
wrap around your groin,
pull you inextricably tighter,
wind you in a gossamer shroud
ready to devour you
in sucking gulps,
and leave you an empty husk.
Three powers
of the ancient bards:
to rouse the listener to joyful laughter,
to desolate the listener to sorrowful tears,
to comfort the listener to peaceful sleep.
Three powers
of the harper.
Three powers
of the wordsmith.
Three powers
I seek.
.
.
In the hidden folds
a tiny desire rests,
A covert longing,
unacknowledged.
You sense it’s there
a tiny, unseen lump,
caught in the fibres
of your life.
You ignore it,
though you feel it
nudging
incessantly.
You keep it secret.
Until finally
you must pick at it,
stretch threads apart,
catch a corner,
then pulling,
and pulling,
and pulling,
like a silk scarf
from a magician’s wand,
more,
more,
more,
until the room is filled
with the vivid kaleidoscope of colour
the billowing
reality of your unspoken dreams
coming true.
I used to
close my eyes
and wish.
Now I
open my eyes
and celebrate.
Gentle sliding
Pearl draped tenderness
Rocking horse
heaven.
.
.
.
Another #Outlander inspired poem…
(ep 7 is rather inspiring)
What if
just for today
you dared to do
that thing you fear?
What if
just for today
whenever you
wanted to say no,
you opened yourself
to yes?
What if
today was the day
when everything
changed?
It’s quivering
twisting
trembling in anticipation
waiting in a
golden gown
to tumble
and dance
with the wind.

Shawn Bird is an author, poet, and educator in the beautiful Shuswap region of British Columbia, Canada. She is a proud member of Rotary.