Thursday, May 25, 2017

Thursday Poem - At the road's turning, a sign

Stranger, you have reached a fabulous land—
in winter, the abode of swans,
magnolia buds and black leaves
secretly feeding the earth—
memory snaked into tree roots.

In spring, you will feel life changes
bubble up in your blood like early wine,
and your heart will be lighter than
the flight of gossamer pollen.

Stranger, in summer, you will drink deeply
of a curious local wine,
fortified with herbs cut with a silver knife
when the moon was new.
Who knows what freedoms
will dazzle your path like fireflies?

And I promise you, in the fall
you will give up the search and know peace
in the fragrance of apple wood burning.
You will learn how to accept love
in all its masks, and the universe
will sing here more sweetly than any other place.

Dolores Stewart Riccio
(from The Nature of Things)

My friend Dolores passed away unexpectedly last weekend.  and I am still trying to wrap my mind around her departure. A gifted author and a fine poet, she walked through this world cherishing its innate abundance and wildness, and she loved it fiercely. Lit from within, she blazed with life and passion, and somewhere beyond the here and the now, she is still alight.  I have to remember that.

5 comments:

Wendi said...

I'm so very sorry for your loss, Cate.

Lindsay said...

"This world is not conclusion
A species stands beyond,
Invisible as music,
But audible as sound."
-- Emily Dickinson

Pienosole said...

My sincere condolences ...

My Journey To Mindfulness said...

So sorry for her passing.
I wrote her and was sent some of her books
and passed on some of her words.

Tabor said...

I also lost a friend this week. We were not close but she was, like your friend, a very bright and strong light in the universe. She had worked hard on the environment as a leader in the field of marine science. The world has lost two good ones.