THE GUIDE

To A Senior Member of My Order:
A Octogenarian Poet
(For Fran)

I will give you your hallowed white hairs
Because you are aware that they are brittle
Because your fingers remember the supple, resilient dance of the red
Poet of radiance; blessed, cursed with the fine tuned touch of
Knowing.

Sensitivity,
Awareness
The combination that gave you your gift
Merges now to roll out hot and dry
An amalgamated heat
That shrivels, sears and scars
This spiderweb of
Years

You stand in your dry fogless garden
Amid the withering dust
Here your artist’s eye sees,
Here your poet’s words paint,
And before my mind unrolls a vast
Georgia O’Keeff
Deep innovative space
Rich imploding color
The vastness of nature
Excitement, tranquility
Boundless presence of life

Individuality Unrelieved

There she stands at the desert’s edge
An old woman with brittle white hair
Blessed and cursed with the fine tuned touch of
Knowing
Surrounded by
Skulls:
Blooming, breathing
Birthing
Beauty

©Edwina Peterson Cross