Author: cfblack
-
Peering Through the City Gate
today is suspended on a nail in a public square bleeding out upon the ground blotting out the mid-day sun an offering of sacrifice enshrined upon the mountain 7-9-24
-
Don’t overeat
tomorrow is Thanksgiving I am thankful – just not the usual way no false narrative of kind Pilgrims and happy contented Indians our two daughters are gathering in Raleigh my siblings, nieces and nephews and an old aunt or two are gathering in my Indiana home ground I wish we could teleport instantaneously between locations,…
-
Unmoved
(a poem for Trans awareness day) in an overgrown garden half-hidden in the weeds a concrete statue of Mary stands unmoved and alone a point of meditation long forgotten the sun shines through the clouds in subtle pinks, blues and green lichen illuminates her face clouds return to block the sun her kindness gives me…
-
Weather report from the Eastern steppes
Carolina wren calls in trees weatherman promises rain by noon chill water wrung from clouds cause more leaves to fall from their perch were they pushed or coerced to leap only Vladimir’s minions know 11-20-24
-
Tom Joad’s shovel
in my compost pile of library books, magazines and family book shelves I searched tidal flats for signs of life with Steinbeck shared intimate secrets with Dickinson, Sexton and Edna St. Vincent Millay I gloried in myths and legions with victors and survivors studied the Bible to stay awake during sermons read dictionaries, Reader Digest…
-
Contrails over Haifa
prayers at the Holy shrines The promised day waits beyond the horizon It is darkest before the brilliant dawn 11-14-24
-
Folktales among the disenchanted
Enchantment arises From the disenchanted Magic is out there Waiting for words to congeal Write it down Future generations to marvel At our waiting to be disenchanted Before we find our magic 11-15-24
-
Gifting among the poor
In the sweater section of Goodwill She saw the ugly hand-knit sweater She gifted her best friend for Christmas 2016 She bought it for a dollar And gifted her best friend for 2024 So she’d have a matching set 11-15-24
-
Big yellow bus
puddle in the street wishing it was the sky reflects its dream school bus pushes past deposits children at the curb traffic stops in both directions free at last they stomp and splash the puddle dry before they race for home 11-14-24
-
Autumn rain
Rain pushed the reds, yellows and golds below water’s surface Gentle winds are stitching a new, bright, colored quilt for the pond 11-12-24
My husband's poetry 