Patricia Pruitt
Winter Died Beneath the Snow
For Joe
The sun is fully on the world
Wizened as it is with cold
And not-enoughs of every stripe
The blue turns an alluring but blind
eye above Red Rose of love
nonetheless thrives among its thorns
Into this strife each and every one is born
Winter Died Beneath the Snow
For Joe
The sun is fully on the world
Wizened as it is with cold
And not-enoughs of every stripe
The blue turns an alluring but blind
eye above Red Rose of love
nonetheless thrives among its thorns
Into this strife each and every one is born
So That...
A decision could be made
The decision could be made
The way ahead charted
Out of night into day
Night into day
Out of time into travel
A decision could be made
Is it late? Are we late?
A way ahead charted
Beyond all impossibility
Out of time into travel
What remains to be seen?
Beyond all impossibility
Or an alternative created
An alternative created
As if the sky did not rain
As if no one was lost
And the sea was not rising
And the sea was not rising
Churning water and salt
Off in the distance
What remains to be seen?
Had a decision occurred?
Did a boat set sail?
Off in the distance
it had seemed far away
It had not seemed real
As if a sky did not rain
The way ahead was charted
As if no one was lost
And the boat set sail
churning water with salt
It had not seemed real
beyond all impossibility
Off in the distance
What remains
to be seen?
While
Icebergs are
melting
Eskimos are
contemplating
swimming pools
Will Dinosaurs
respond
to the return
of moisture
If there is a tree
will the rarest
butterfly roost
in a radiated rose
My heart or
yours, his, or hers
Even theirs may
attain true
understanding
Will the world
turn back on
its way
to the next
universe
A decision could be made
The decision could be made
The way ahead charted
Out of night into day
Night into day
Out of time into travel
A decision could be made
Is it late? Are we late?
A way ahead charted
Beyond all impossibility
Out of time into travel
What remains to be seen?
Beyond all impossibility
Or an alternative created
An alternative created
As if the sky did not rain
As if no one was lost
And the sea was not rising
And the sea was not rising
Churning water and salt
Off in the distance
What remains to be seen?
Had a decision occurred?
Did a boat set sail?
Off in the distance
it had seemed far away
It had not seemed real
As if a sky did not rain
The way ahead was charted
As if no one was lost
And the boat set sail
churning water with salt
It had not seemed real
beyond all impossibility
Off in the distance
What remains
to be seen?
While
Icebergs are
melting
Eskimos are
contemplating
swimming pools
Will Dinosaurs
respond
to the return
of moisture
If there is a tree
will the rarest
butterfly roost
in a radiated rose
My heart or
yours, his, or hers
Even theirs may
attain true
understanding
Will the world
turn back on
its way
to the next
universe
Messages
Gift
In the grass
Its green insistence
On spring
Or the life
Forgotten somewhere
Above our heads
The faces in the photos
The child’s drawings
That worn-out sweater
missed for years
These tiny returns
Of kindness memory
Coming into focus
In the eyes
Shining, an elaborate
Scaffolding
Of feeling
We gather it
Into our bodies
All parts
Yet seldom
Show it, not even taking in
What happens
Still, it goes on
And there
It is
Washed up
On our shore.
__________
Patricia Pruitt lives with family and little dog in Western Massachusetts near her four grandchildren and among many wonderful poets. She began writing poems when she was 16, and is still working at it.
Gift
In the grass
Its green insistence
On spring
Or the life
Forgotten somewhere
Above our heads
The faces in the photos
The child’s drawings
That worn-out sweater
missed for years
These tiny returns
Of kindness memory
Coming into focus
In the eyes
Shining, an elaborate
Scaffolding
Of feeling
We gather it
Into our bodies
All parts
Yet seldom
Show it, not even taking in
What happens
Still, it goes on
And there
It is
Washed up
On our shore.
__________
Patricia Pruitt lives with family and little dog in Western Massachusetts near her four grandchildren and among many wonderful poets. She began writing poems when she was 16, and is still working at it.