Darkness and Salt
-by Suzanne Sigafoos
Our tablecloth is stained with wine; spills from laughter,
spills from sorrow. What was meant for the glass is held in the weave.
I write and pages darken. Listen: the heart works just as hard at night,
steadfast in the presence of love, steadfast in its absence.
Above us, stars leap like dolphins, burst into chrysanthemums.
Stars pierce the sky, sharp and bright as salt.
One Winter Afternoon
-by ee cummings
(at the magical hour
when is becomes if)
a bespangled clown
standing on eighth street
handed me a flower.
Nobody, it’s safe
to say, observed him but
myself; and why? because
without any doubt he was
whatever (first and last)
most people fear most:
a mystery for which i’ve
no word except alive
—that is, completely alert
and miraculously whole;
with not merely a mind and a heart
but unquestionably a soul-
by no means funereally hilarious
(or otherwise democratic)
but essentially poetic
or ethereally serious:
a fine nor a coarse clown
(no mob, but a person)
and while never saying a word
who was anything but dumb;
since the silence of him
self sang like a bird.
Most people have been heard
screaming for international
measures that render hell rational
—i thank heaven somebody’s crazy
enough to give me a daisy Key Ring
by Virginia Hamilton AdairWhen my grandfather was very old
to one small room confined
he gave me his big bunch of keys to hold.I asked, “Do they unlock every door there is?
And what would I find inside.”
He answers, “Mysteries and more mysteries.
You can’t tell till you’ve tried.”
Then as I swung the heavy ring around
The keys made a chuckling sound.
Central Park, Mother’s Day
One of my favorite spoken word pieces, by the amazing Rachel McKibbens
What I Know of the Moon
by Portland Poet Andrew Michael Roberts
I am only half myself.
the other side’s
a dark idea
I like to believe in.
Different Stars
lyrics by Tresspassers William
So you’d sing a lullaby to get me to sleep
So it’s no surprise my eyes are never heavy
For i’ve not seen you in the flesh for so long
That i’m not sure we would know each other at all
-excerpt from The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman:
“This is what I know, the one and only thing. The best way to die is while you’re living, even here in New Jersey. Even for someone like me. You’d laugh to know how long it’s taken me to figure that out, when all I had to do was cross over the mountains. When I walk to my car in the parking lot on winter nights, I have often noticed bats, a black cloud in the darkening sky. They bring me comfort. They make me feel you’re not so far away. To think, I used to be afraid. I used to run and hide. Now I stand and look upward. I don’t mind what the weather is; the cold has never bothered me. I hope what I’m seeing is the ever after. I hope it’s you.”
Bambi
lyrics by Gusgus
I feel light while the bubbles
Fly through the park
Up to the sky dead quiet
We are sinking into each other
We exceed our headroom
No need for acting clever
Because today we will spend together
All this day we will spend together
Bambi fly
Today is living
We are able to continue
Because the world
It is still breathing
It is good to be here with you
I am here
You are here
And today
Today is forever
My heart is where your mind is
When day leaves
It leaves us high and quiet
Inspired by each other
Bambi fly
Today is living
We are able to continue
Because the world
It is still breathing
It is good to be here with you
I am here
And you are here
And today
Today is forever
“Each indecision brings its own delays and days are lost lamenting over lost days. What you can do or think you can do, begin it/ For boldness has magic, power and genius in it.”
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1749-1832 Poet, Novelist and Scientist
Midnight Picnic 