Blog Archives
Brown-eyed girl
Detail from a mural in Artists Alley, Ajo, Arizona
A penny for your thoughts,
brown-eyed girl.
Can anyone grow wise
thinking only of the stars?
When shadows nestle in your hair,
becoming bent and crooked—
is that how wisdom begins?
What about the young boy
who loops himself around
the boa constrictor
and survives to tell the tale?
Will you be like him?
Will you have a tale to tell?
How will you begin?
A penny (that’s enough)
for your thoughts,
brown-eyed girl.
Small Tales
~~ 1 ~~
a coatless woman
shivering under the bridge—
the scent of jasmine
~~ 2 ~~
slices of white bread
arranged on a blue platter—
the homeless shelter
~~ 3 ~~
memo to herself
scribbled on an envelope—
cigarettes and cream
~~ 4 ~~
the roadside barber
clipping shaggy pilgrims’ locks
a penny an inch
~~ 5 ~~
At first light of day
she bows before the mountains
in adoration,
while a dozen cactus wrens
sweep away leftover stars.
~~ 6 ~~
Time to say good-bye
to birds hidden in the bush—
one is in your hand,
one is nestling in your hair,
one is becoming a star.
~~ 7 ~~
It is not yet dawn
and already the old shoes
clamor for a walk,
their wrinkled tongues chattering
of paths they took long ago.
~~ 8 ~~
how the gods play games,
breaking open the bundles
of rye and oat straw,
while the farmer and his wife
take up their lamentations
~~ 9 ~~
breezy autumn day
tattered prayer flags on a fence
flapping crows away—
farmer’s unspoken longings
for a bumper crop of corn
~~ 10 ~~
exhausted pilgrim
thinking of another way
to make this journey
so that her threadbare tunic
will last another six months
~~ 11 ~~
in her small kitchen
a sip or two of cocoa
from a broken cup—
savoring the memories
of more than seventy years
~~ 12 ~~
one more touch of myrrh
to burn the tip of her tongue
with mortality
© 2015 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Poetry Pantry #262
More Sunday’s Whirligig #17
Magical Mystical Teacher 