They have cut down the trees
on which I hung my thoughts
for rearrangement
into coherent patterns

The branches were arteries
that turned my inspiration
into textured leaf
evergreen, sturdy holm oaks

from the Mediterranean
whispering of sunflowers
rosemary, olives and lemons
in their natural element

sportsground of squirrels
schola cantorum of rooks
the wings of collared doves
sunspread upon the boughs

On windy days they rocked
with interior knowledge
of history and compound time
frail scions now remnants of hope

They have slaughtered my trees
in the full flush of being
for fear of litigation
and rumours of frenzied gales

Mankind destroys the planet
I said to the Lord. Why must it?
Behold the new perspective, he said,
I am giving you the skies.

From The Twain, Poems of Earth and Ether

Upper image courtesy of sardinia-blue.com

On the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, October 4

Lady Poverty, I wed thee,
Stripped of raiment woven gold,
Seeing that 'twas Love that bled thee,
so my soul should not be sold.

I lay down my velvet mantle,
Shoes of hide from Tuscan Plain,
Coins of silver by the handful,
A rod of iron, pursuit of gain.

Oystered silk, embroidered tabard,
Fair exchange for daily bread,
Feeds the famished, shames the niggard,
Recognises leper's tread.

I renounce the life that shone bright
In revelling of troubadours,
Dancing in the streets past midnight,
Masking Satan's deadliest hours.

Sir Brother Sun and Sister Moon,
Read repentance in my alms,
Squandered riches garner no boon,
Sackcloth habit hath no charms.

Brothers Wind and Air, I call thee,
Sister Water, Brother Fire,
No more shall my deeds appal thee,
Heaven my faint heart will inspire.

Mother Earth who well sustains us
With fruits and herbs and radiant flowers,
Banished be the greed that maims us
And destroys the peace God showers.

Sister Death, your toils benignant
Shall release us, not alarm,
To that Country, our assignment,
Where no fiendish spirit harms.

So bear witness to my marriage,
Lord of Heaven and earth and sky,
Birds and beasts assist my courage
We shall gain Eternity!

(Artist Unknown)

Virgo greets Libra,
pinion of the solstices
holding in tension
summer light and winter dark
a truce between them

tides mock ebbing sap
harvest moon a memory
echoes of dancing
in barns crammed with tarnished stalks
severed from quick grain

birds seek the high wires
melodies upon a stave
designed to carry
messages of other sorts
of hope purged of pain

the season's foils come
spinning down in gales a-whirl
deep-tinctured hues of
the Renaissance period
an eloquent twist

mortal senses pique
at summer's reckless reprise
while subtle odours
of decay spike mists filming
a pumpkin-gold sun

Earth already boasts
proliferant mysteries
flagging the far side
of the arc with lustrous jade
blades of next year's wheat

^{Nostalgia In Reverse}

Westerlies
clouds shafted with gold
Atlantic
travellers without
frontiers

carriers
of strange prophetic
atmospheres
and scents I cannot
yet translate