The still point in a spinning world

where, for a heartbeat silence fills

the void.

Wind in the canvas billows,

night falls away with the long slow call of lion:

behind my head hyenas squabble over leopard kill.

Later with the heat

cheetah stretch in swaying grass

light ‘n dark dappled miracles

invisible as the light shifts.

In front of me the long sloping canter

of giraffe, zebra dazzle with the wildebeest

at sundown hippos bob & disappear,

only their ears visible

against the silver of the pool.

Wind in the canvas billows,

while I could lie forever here rocked

in nature’s cradle.

Vultures pick the lion’s kill

once more the night is hollow

with chimera of movement,

baboons battle above my head

& the grass breathes  the Delta’s immortality

life & death an inch away

as water glistens and the elephant’s

grey shadows glide the horizon.

A quarter moon a rising star

a grand alignment in the sky

the frost is brittle coats the earth

music floats across the lawn

[a still wind, echo of a sleeping  bird]

the night walks on.

The sun an orange vibrant orb

it paints the dawn with fiery breath

a burning question throbs on tongue

but I drive right on.

Your music floats across the void

a single note has pierced my heart

how have I tried, what have I done,

did I find love in the darkest hour?

A quarter moon the earth revolves

a line of planets shining high

the galaxies they stretch they sway

point a sign to the great beyond.

How have I lived, what have I done?

Did I find love in this darkest hour?

How many times have I said those words

& moved right on?

How many times have

I whispered love?

The past is clear it was this ‘n that

a  sea of faces lost in time

I’m at the crossroads of the dawn

but I’ll find a way, yes I’ll find a way

with a single note, the guitar man plays

the guitar man plays.

Your music floats across the void

a single note has pierced my heart

how have I tried, what have I done,

did I find love in the darkest hour?

The women flutter

when you pass

they preen like

pretty birds

& you oblivious

to the dip ’n sway

smile & stride

on by.

A daughter who adored

a wife with many needs:

you walked lightly

on this earth

oblivious to us all

the air, your special dream.

A bird without a soul

hidden by the years

a man with no idea

of the pain you brought

to me.

You soared above us all

at supersonic speed

you lived & died

with no regard

no guilt, no empathy.

I follow you through sleep

an Electra with her sword

I cannot see your face

but love’s the strangest thing.

It has no bonds, no chains

you’re buried in my heart

each day you breathe

through me.