THE SELF

These Have I Loved

These have I loved . . .
The sweet silver shiver
of wind chimes in a mountain breeze
The soft caressing spill
of a Celtic harp

Shakespeare . . .
Sagebrush . . .
Bathtubs . . .
Books . . .
Merlin and Mozart
Honeysuckle moonlight
My husband's hands

Midnight Rocking, a babies petal soft hunger
pressed strong and sure against my heart
Lezlie's vibrant, nourishing laughter
April's giving, sunshine glow
The thoughts that shine in Taran's starblack eyes

Aspen leaves trembling in a dryad prayer
And
Mountains

The lights of Ashland . . .
stars poured on a darkened hillside
in a west wind sweet as wine

One soulblue night when time stood still
and a creamdeep moon painted ribbons of silk
across the Bay of Naples

Narnia . . . Middlearth . . . Prydain . . . Hed
all those worlds of wonder where I wander free

These have I loved . . .
The abundance of lushly twining ivy
The therapeutic kaleidoscope of laughter
The secrets of Swans
Lily of the Valley in springtime shade
The smell of the desert after rain

Hot tea and labyrinthine teatalk . . .
Labyrinths which stretch across dimensions
weave throughout the truth of life
spiral around the meaning of being
only to suddenly spring back laughing
at irrelevance or irreverence
Labyrinths always leading me back
to the center
of myself

Songs from the Greenwood
Renaissance remembrance
Roller coasters
Pad Thai
Every single blessed pause
in the pain

My totem, the Otter
Reminding me of the important things in life:
merriment, revelry,
festivity, freedom, fun
the strong, solemn necessity of
Play

The lucent cyberpathway which leads to
Lemuria
land of El Duende, of moonlit mists and clear healing waters
where my muse dances with joy under synchronic stars
and kindred souls from all corners of this spinning, sapphire sphere
look up from their writing
and smile

These have I loved . . .
Enchantment
Mystery
Magic
Night

The fire that kindled the alabaster light
And loved the rosebud into beautiful blossom

The body wisdom
Nourishment, passion, depth and joy
that is
The Dance

Cut crystals slicing light to rainbows
Waterfalls and fountains . . .
air rejoicing in water
water exulting in air
Vacations
Traditions
Celebrations
Home

My sisters, my brother
woven from my fabric
extensions of my heart
My father's briefcase
My mothers voice
A big soft house upon a hill
smelling of leather, learning
and love baked bread

Candle light
Firelight
Light of creation in a child's eyes

Gordon Lightfoot
Coca-Cola
Pink
And words

Words that I sculpt and sing and shape
Making them dance
In the cold still night


© Edwina Peterson Cross