wonderful news

poem 005

i.

today there is terrible news
tomorrow there will be more

yet so very close 
& constant
ancient & forgotten 
is the wonderful news
that we may overlook it

or even

      forgive us

look away


ii.

a kingfisher has arrived at the pond
& another

they will raise a family here
& photons are piercing the void
to craft blades of grass

swallowtails are lapping at the frenzy
of sweet golden jewels

& the very spaces their wings touch
build my breath

what precious air to move 
among my body
taking its shape

what wonderful news that i am here
to protect my kin


iii.

      oh, yes
because we are lovers

because, did you hear?
we are each other’s song

because i sense the secret 
of a cicada’s past
gripping things
here & there
& marvel

because i was tutored
at the edge of a forest
one melting summer 
by a wild song bubbling
from the cauldron-throat
of a red-eyed vireo
before it died
 
because even in the mess 
of a threshold world
when i stare long
into the night-sky
a whispering gem remains
with a voice of speckled light:

      the stars & oceans are so vast
      this is how they help us

because i have learned
that in building habits 
which keep us hidden
our roots grow weak
& we have trouble
bearing fruit

      & yes too
      dear mystery
because all descendants
rising to life 
from the milky churning
of creation
are inheriting residues
of a cosmic harm

because the haunted swindlers of the world
are still feeding your relatives to Wetiko:

         plant relatives & stone relatives
         relatives unseen & vaporous & melodic
         & those too of fur & fin & feather
              

iv.

i stand in harmony
with the cracks 
where forces meet

& crawling things
which drone atop
an oaken canopy

as well as flower & root
& soil & tree
& especially

seed collectors 
crafting these
dear, dear, disorderly

hedgerows made of time
& song & dreams
of things

      have you felt the great distortion
      instructed to inoculate your mind?

      or seen an insatiable demon
      breaching the heart of Earth?


v.

i will arrive
teeth bared

a flowering mind

a heart 
cloaked in nettles

howling
some fractaling song

smelling
of wonderful news

to stand with those
who do not feed
this evil well