Morning Ritual (a sonnet)

Each day the morning ritual’s the same,
I wake to hear the traffic in the street.
My mother, from her bedroom, calls my name.
I wish that I could stay in longer sleep.
Preparing breakfast, brewing morning tea,
I throw the heavy window open wide
Breathing in cold air, throwing bread and seed
to waiting birds that gather there outside.
But now my lingering dreams all fly away
A Raven came, down swooping from the sky!
His presence here a blessing on the day
My heart awakes and lifts my spirit high.

Mythic bird, bringing darkness from the night
On wings outspread and lifting up in light.

Seeking the Nectar

the seed is small

curled up and tight

and now, given water,

it bursts through to light

the most beautiful of flowers

i inhale it’s gentle blossom

and worship its beauty for hours

 

each leaf, each petal, each pattern

the way the colour gradually changes

from the centre to the edge

every aspect as nature arranges

in intricate and elegant design

the unfolding petals curve outward

as it opens and captures the light

or closes again in shadow

a butterfly resting from flight

 

see how the stamen grows upward

from the nectar that stirs at the heart

i want to cup these petals so gently,

not crush them or thrust them apart,

taste the dew from the leaves

seeking the nectar and drinking

i want to dive into the pool,

to the source of the mystical scent

no thought in my head, not thinking

diving, swimming, sinking

breathing,

gasping,

drowning

Dear Wilf

There was a Raven called Wilf

Fairly quiet, he kept to himself,

‘What do you do all the time?’ I asked.

He blinked his mirrored eye.

‘What do you expect of a bird?’

he said, ‘I observe, observe, observe,

and I fly when I need to fly.”

 

‘And does that make you happy?’ I asked

He nodded his head, ‘Oh yes,

my happiness is complete,

far more than you could ever guess,

but I also like talking to you

and dropping a seed here and there.’’

I smiled, ‘Ah yes. Your troubles are seldom and few.”