Preening a poem

Nouns, verbs!
Time to sing,
escape your cage

and break away

like when a young bird, at evening,
floats up high, flaps and reaches
fully feathered, turns and looks to land.

Hold that instant

as the same but seeking,
rolling, now alighting
on a hand before you
rhyme or fall, beat
in time, lift and sing
and, once more, call and fly.

Make Hay

Alphabet:
5 letters apart
the letter
- M
and letter
-H

Making Language Keenly Jump Into Heart

With only 5
degrees of separation
changing the word
- mug
into the verb
- hug.

Point

The point of a mountain?
Not for sermon,
ascension, huff and puff,
carrying an old cross.

No - high, distant, clear;
attainable in tiny steps,
this mountain’s my dream,
that mountain is hope!

Andrew's secret move

A special movement
palm up, near the heart-space,
his arm draws out a big circle,
extending fingers,

returns,

keen to ensure
with fingers, palm, arm
that a circle includes
‘All of us. With all of us!’

Wall

Feeling thirsty, I
decide to build a dam
today – because I hear
flowing water nearby,
slurping. It’s hot and hard
building up a wall,
brick on ancient brick

until I stand, gaze
at my new dam – my own
creation, standing
thick and strong,
old and new and long,
doing what it ought to
- keeping out the water.

Humility

Hugs escape a heartache left unsaid
because we twitter-on with tongue and mind
and stop a real ability to bless

but, when knees crumble, earth is there
and eyes can glitter – words – astride the wind
rattle into heart and mind along a twisting ear.

Centre

Incredibly enough
om mani padme hung
(famous Buddhist mantra)
only settles chaos

of loudly running, waving infants
on a shuddering train
North from Birmingham
for a flashing moment

and, though I have a seat;
settled, fully fed,
the many waving trees outside
travel backwards as if I’m stopped,

as if I know what’s happening
and, flirting with
om mani padme hung,
incredibly enough, I don’t.