springtime and issues.

the issue i have here is, i have no idea how to do a tab-like space in html. i've been playing around with spacing and linebreaks and i feel these ones lose something without the spacing. i'm gonna post 'em anyway, but if anyone knows html well enough to explain to me what i can't understand when i google . . . it'd be awesome. anyway, here we go.



april 1

the glory-of-the-snow
popped up in drifts
this year. i dug a
few of the bulbs to
move - brown teardrops
close to dirty onions
except the blue stars
blooming on their stems.
the warmth calls my
fingers to earth.



riversister

oh river, i am today
your sister, in joy
for the first time.
this is my sign of
healing, this is how
i measured time. at
the full of the moon
we know each other
river-sisters, crones
and maidens, red and
black and silver,
compleat in understanding.



blank

taste of burnt garlic,
an earthy, nutty carbon
borne up on a wind
from the lower chakras
entire languages slip by
with equal comprehension
(or lack thereof)
no cold handhold, no
gloves, no smooth toe hold,
and no boots - knee-jerk
rages and flash floods.



necessity of abyss

ghosts of old dreams
recognizing the necessity
of abyss-gazing, we
train the eyes to unfocus, we
learn to loosen the mind, we
begin to see the eyes, we
understand sometimes
the exception and the rule,
the tired worn linens
are the fabric of truth.



curtained

don't look at me
unformed.
hang a curtain to
hide me
as i build arms, left, right,
and hands
to mold the rest of what
i've got.



simple

don't matter it it's born
or brainwashed - i like to
see my man eat -
proud that what i worked
has worked for him
glad my mouth tastes
what his mouth likes
pleased to see it's pleased
him as well. if only my
other actions provided
such simple satisfactions.



spacing

never minded time alone
silence and freedom
from endless required
small talk and chatter.
when seedlings are set
into the soil we allow
wide spaces for the roots
branches and leaves to
spread. not set apart
for speciality, not to
raise it beyond its place,
but each removed from each
to give space to grow to
fullness and health, space
to hear the whisper
of the soul.



break time

now the babe sleeps
and i set things to
burn, inhale deeply
of it. the mantra:
this is enough.
i try to learn to
lower my expectations
-- being accustomed does
not mean it's needed
and nevermind what
i think i deserve.



never asked

ever so willing to do
the blocking for my daily
act, did you even
read the script? my
character would not do that,
and yet you say upper
stage left, you say
deliver these lines like
this, not that, you say
what exactly i should
do-
love, this is my show,
and i never asked you
to direct.



here's the ghost

here's the ghost:
if a hint of displeasure
burnt garlic
castor oil
is detected
i don't move.
i lived a thousand years
in terror
and it's second nature
first nurture
to freeze
my time in egypt only made it worse.
some days i walk right through
or i am weak
as i admitted
yesterday.