Cut Down — A Dream

A photo of the base of a dogwood tree's trunk amongst green grass.
“Cut Down” — C.Birde, 5/22

Sleep interrupted

by strobe of lights –

red & blue & white

stroked in rotation

of flashes against

the ceiling …

Rise & slip

across the floor,

part the drapes,

& kneel –

forehead to glass –

at the window…

Peer out & down,

absorb the scene

below…

Police & fire &

emergency trucks

cluster in the rain-

flooded street…

People mill & study

their handiwork…

The dogwood –

stretched prone –

lies on wet grass,

a graceless knot

of limbs pricked

in pink blooms…

Twenty-six years

of growth,

cut down…

All that remains,

a ragged stump

in broken light

& rain.

 

— C.Birde, 5/22

 

The Month of Mars — A Poem

An artfully altered photo looking up the trunk of an old, bare-leafed oak tree, its torso stroked with shadow.
“Oak, March” — C.Birde, 3/22

O, March —

mercurial & a-brim with bluster

Encompassing

emotions’ scope, depth, & wide,

sweeping swings

Animate

Empathic

Passionate & weeping aloud

the world’s griefs,

shouting its humble victories

Accept me –

nearly as buoyant,

at turns razor-edged &

tearful in my seclusion;

your mortal expression,

your devotee.

I am yours.

— C.Birde, 3/22

Absence — A Poem

An artfully altered photo -- mirror image -- of a tree, with limbs linking.
“Mirror Maple” — C.Birde, 1/22

Trees,

dark-stroked

against a sky obscured

& damply blotted,

lift expectant limbs…

Bare

Exposed

Stripped

to elemental truth.

I stand beneath…

In search of self

& soul

& all that’s sacred

amongst knotted roots

& last’s year’s fallen

leaves.

— C.Birde, 1/22