Summer 06

On a moonless night
Her full form covered with the veil of a cloud
I become Taliesin
Again and again
Shift this shape that I wear loosely
I am the owl by the side of the road
Opened winged in glory
Sacrificed to the 18-wheeler

I am the dusty old love letter
In the shoe box
That the granddaughter finds
After the old woman is put to rest
In the cold ground
On a rainy spring day

I am the lonely blue jay
Feather swept up at the end of the driveway
With the candy wrappers and the yardwork
Flyers colored with spring yellows and baby blues

I am the old mountain lion in Colorado
Who frightened by the conquest of city
And hungry from the hard dry winter
Attacks the little boy named food

I am the old car the rusty gray station wagon
With a crunched rear bumper
And a one-eyed tail light
That watches in its infinite wisdom
Like some grim gray god
Wodin in disguise

I am the old black sleeveless T-shirt
That you just can't throw away
Because every stain is a memory
And every tear is a scar to wear proudly
Even though it won't fit over an old man's belly

I am that stubborn weed that stands all alone
Right smack dab in the middle of the manicured fescue
With a lion maned head that dances in the hot breath
Of the west wind

I am Taliesin
Of the many shapes
I dance in the shadow
Of every poem

Waiting patiently
To become word
To be spoken
In a whisper or a roar