Amazing How
Only last Thursday
after another morning
of clichés
as freezing winds pushed
us along grey avenues
you shouted my name
in the middle of 34th Street
calling me poet
and instantly mountains
of mediocrity were melted
by your smile.
.
A glimpse of spring
shy blue morning
black trees etch sky
children skipping
over puddles
bramble on snow
soft birdsong
listening to water
race downstream
winds gently kiss
my forehead
grass shoots push
through first thaw
.
Trees of Heaven
Those are tough trees
growing in slums.
With no need of rich soil
or pruning, they rise
in abandoned lots.
These are trees that
survive rubbish, rodents
noxious chemicals.
Not easily cut down,
they stand against
gaunt tenements.
Climbing skyward,
delicate palm leaves
flourish flowering pods.
Trees of Heaven give
children glimpses of bright
emerald each morning.
Stars play peek-a-boo
between their branches
through long nights.
Who has said a taste of
paradise is only for the rich?
.
Imagine
Imagine to be a bird
slicing air with wings.
Up up over that horizon
soaring through clouds
away from solemn earth.
Shining, shimmering
far above this sphere
into clear blue light.
Cutting through sky
gliding over oceans
eyes open all seeing.
Awake all day all night
brushing rushing
against the four winds.
Imagine to be a bird.
© 2020, Joan McNerney
JOAN McNERNEY’s poetry has been included in many literary magazines such as Seven Circle Press, Dinner with the Muse, Poet Warriors, Blueline, and Halcyon Days. Four Bright Hills Press Anthologies, several Poppy Road Review Journals, and numerous Spectrum Publications have accepted her work. Her latest title, The Muse In Miniature, is available on Amazon.com and Cyberwit.net. She has four Best of the Net nominations.
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