Number 14

written for the poetry club Casa los Altos, 14th anniversary of existence, 2/14/2022

For your 14th,

I wish you ivory*.

May you run your fingers

across antique piano keys

and remember some song

from an old movie.

I hope you receive a love poem

written with a feather

on parchment.

I want the bones of your ancestors

to rise up into your spine

when you ponder what

needs to be done for your children.

I wish you the pale wood

of a dead tree, a strong ax,

and a warm fire. Someone to sit

by that fire with you

in the stillness of breath.

May you rediscover a letter

from your friend in 3^rd grade,

may you make a pillow

with the lace from

your grandmother’s wedding dress,

for your daughter’s baptism.

I wish you the breasts of live doves

flying through war torn skies,

the flesh of apples

to strengthen your heart

and the first sprouting of beans

and squash, to nourish your garden.

I give you a pearl from my workshop,

a gardenia from my window,

the skin of my hands-

always moving, searching perhaps

for a perfect redemption

for the actions of others.  

Give a rose to your beloved,

and think of me as just another poet,

who walked these white halls with you

a while, carrying an iron** pen

in one hand and moonflower

over my heart, asking for the world

in an antique ivory globe

centered forever with your own country

facing the listener.

 

*ivory is the traditional gift for a 14^th anniversary

**iron is a traditional gift for a 6^th anniversary

Reviews

[KATHY SUE SILLS]

Wow! This has some excellent imagery in it! Love the line stillness in my breath!