Not the Least

The tides, the swell and rising,

crest and curl, the crash,

the whitening trough receding.

I watch the restless crawl

of each unwelcomed guest approaching-

one by one, by one

their heedless pawing meets the shore

and goes ungreeted,

each in turn retreating,

all their passion spent.

It doesn't go unnoticed, not the least,

the likeness in our sudden rise,

the smallest swell preceding.

Our body's quickened crest,

and just as soon

its downward curl to swift decay, and pale,

our passion spent.

And just as every crested wave

that crashes crumbles to the shore,

each surrendered drop asunder

lone departing swift

to join the sea from whence it came,

so our bodies failed and wilting, withered

make their mute return to dirt and dust,

our sundered soul departing quick

to dwell where once conceived;

To places far more vast than oceans,

far more deep.

To one day rest within the gentle hand

whose fingers molded every curve and crease,

to glimpse the brow that thought our laughs

and wrought our dearest dreams.

Return,

as every wave that crashes

swift retreats to where it once began.

Flowered Fleet

With steady hold on April's reigns,
Easter ushers Springtime forth,
reveals its lock released,
its lever sprung
and both its stable doors unlatched
and open swung.
Outward trots its flowered fleet,
quickening swift toward gallop full and glistening,
up and toward the towers' blossomed reach,
beneath the cool of shaded bowers,
far beyond the meadows green and overgrowing.

Naught of death remains, in sight nor scent,
within its trodden wake, its tracks
behind and left which render all things
bright and breathing;
Morning's winged residers
all alight and seeming steeped in song,
their cheerful praise
within the dawning's primrose keep.
The gardens groomed for growing burst,
begetting stems and pedals birthed
in colors no less vast that deep,
with depths surpassing moonlit oceans
infant eyes
and starshot skies of late December's making.
The meekest Oak and farthest meadow,
each one leaden, barren, sparse of late
returns to former splendor,
laced with lilies golden white,
adorned with buds and growing.

Easter's waking beckons all things forth,
to death and Winter giving chase,
replaced with realms of latent buds
awake and skyward rising.
Its flowered fleet, of mane
and hoof, and gentle neighing,
gallops far abroad and full
till all things filled with life are welled
and each is overflowing.

Mutual Mirth

Conceived on winters morning, bursting small
but rapid growing since your looming birth
was learned, your little pedals latent all;
The thought, the blooming want of mutual mirth
in holding close your blossomed blue, before
your opened each and newly knowing eyes
to tell you that I love you true, and for
the first, to hear it in return, replied
with earnest love alike, a purest love.

It ceaseless grew, increasing even through
your autumn birth and winter budding cold.
Like spring's restrained desire, autumn built
October loosed and unrelenting bent
upon the winter's will, availing long
its unabateing winds and all the while
awaits, retained and racked with wanting, need
to share it's laden mirth, awake and filled
to overflowing, so my yearning welled.

And just as spring's release returns to lift
and spurn the leash that lately life restrained,
revealing lavished gardens vast of grown
and wild violet, scented lilac strung
with birds alight and humming, so today
when long at last the wish upon which all
my will has long been bent had burst from bud
to blossom full, did sweetest mirth release
from teary eyes to both your ocean blue.