Soul Cleansing Waters

Cleansing soul

Crystalline waters
Flowing downward
From the headlands
To the sea

Tumbling over
Rocky ledges
Sifting impurities
Left behind
As soil
To be aerated
serrated
alleviated
seeded
feeded
weeded
watered
sunned
thinned
rethought
grown
with measures
of truth
for harvesting

By the soul
Crystalline waters
Flowing downward
From the headlands
To the sea

Artwumyn

©2002

Soul Search

I sit, I wait, in silence best
I center down my restlessness
I think on all life's mystery
If understanding come to me
I gratefully thank the one who is
For granting life and joy to give


I seek to find and entered, stay 
In fellowship with ancient ways
Whose wisdom is it's own reward
In truth, in love, in living toward
A path of peace where I must go
To journey towards the river's flow


For rivers flow both deep and wide
Their waters rush and sometimes hide
What lies beneath the flood and then
They sometimes hold their waters in
And stand in pools while levels deep
So life renews while rivers sleep


To understand the river's flow
One must beneath the surface go
To learn the depths and see the land
Through which the river's path must wind
For gently flowing rivers laze
Across both field and forest glade


A time for fish and insects like
To raise their young and live their life
Then when time has come for change
The river roars to life again
And taking with it in it's cage
Are all the deaths to which it sates


Until it's spent and pours it's breath
Into the sea and lies in death
And thus it ends, the river's life
And I in contemplation, rife
Through all I know to understand
What part I play in river's hand


I sit, I wait, in silence best
My soul renewed and now at rest

Artwumyn

©2002

Center of the Circle

In the center of the circle
Sits a sister of the night
She has come to seek a vision
On her journey towards the light

Wanting wisdom fully measured
She is waiting for a sign
From the universal cycle
Pouring out eternal life

As she meditates in silence
Songs of nature fill the air
Forest dryads sing to naiads
Softly in their whispered care

Gentle breezes brush the needles
Of the pines in winded flair
And the chirping of the crickets
Warn of trespassers who dare

When a hush comes to the midnight
All attend with breath apart
Listening closely to the message
Given slowly to the heart

As a tear trails down in shadow
Sister rises for her flight
She must now complete her journey
With her wisdom gained this night

It is not in sorrow leaving
It is wisdom's price of gold
But she'd rather give up everything
For freedom loved and told

Still she smiles in her welcome
To the dawning of the day
And the sunrise shows her colors
Gold and yellow light her way

Universal in the circle
Is the cycle of all life
Forward motion of a journey
By a sister of the night

Faerie Sojourner

©2002

Journey In

I must now abide

Within

Inside the spirit

Of my soul

Where imperfection

Doubt and fear

Cannot reveal

Their hated goal

I must then go where no one sees

To find the deepest inner core

To bring to love that part of me

That must now be the open door

I must now save the inner voice

Before she silences my soul

I dare not miss the calling choice

To bring to light the fire below

With torch to light my trembling way

My hand to wall to steady me

I will descend the heart of me

And find the treasure that I seek

And then once found, will it reveal

All that I need to life revive?

No, only that one thing I need

To bring my spirit back alive

To light of day, to health of dawn

To warm, soft earth and healing life

My journey to resume again

With renewed spirit in my pack

~~let it flow~~

Flowtrvlr

©2002

It's A Rainbow World

It's a rainbow world

Don't it all kinda swirl

Around you when you see

Colors blending,

Flowing free

It's a rainbow world

For this lesbian girl

Just picking her way

Home

Down that yellow brick road

It's a fantastic dream

Full of opportune schemes

Everywhere I look

I see another hook

Serendipiticious

Hueing precipiticious

Flowing colors so delicious

I'm awash in rainbow wishes

It's a rainbow world

For a multicolored girl

Dancing to her heart's content

In this lively continent

~~~~just flowing along~~~~

Flowtrvlr

©2002

Just Looking

I've had many friends in life, seems fortune smiled each day

Some came by me for just a while, and some have gone their way

My sister came to be my friend,

And then my best-est too,

For after many years of life,

She's remained tried and true

And over time I've also learned

Some values of my own

To be my own best friend is good

Especially when alone

But there is another kind of friend missing for a while

Seems nearly fifteen years have passed without a best friend's smile

And not for lack of looking, nor for lack of need

Not for lack of anything, I guess, just lack for me

But travelers do get lonely,

And sojourners feel the strain,

When years go by without a love

They sometimes cry in pain

Someone to laugh with me in spring, in summer love the sun,

To work together all year long, sharing what may come

Someone to cuddle in the night, and spoon when it gets cold

To live and love in full and lean, to grow on till we're old

So if you spy a traveler, wandering lone and free,

Who says she's looking for a friend and wants some company

If she is kind and true of heart, a friend to all she meets

If you've a love to call your own, please send her on to me

~~Flow

Flowtrvlr

©2002

Interludes

Interludes
Intruding
Enter fusing
In my mind
Interrupting
My soft musings
Of the love I hope to find

In the dreamland
Of my pillow
In the wakeful
Hours of dawn
While I wait
For life's intrusions
To resolve into
The kind of illusion
Fully moving
In a local motived
Rhyme

With a rhythm
Of conclusion
To each destined
Hill to climb
Till the hour
Of my inclusion
In the rat race
Monkeyshine
Of the man
Who signs the paychecks
For the ones who are inclined
To turn over all their workdays
With a smiling set of lines

So they have a few brief moments
With their loved ones to recline
Till the weakest end is over
And they rush back to the grind
Hoping when the year is over
They have saved enough to find
That vacation is not just another
Figment of their mind

Enter interludes intruding
In the workday of the kind
That keep prices ever
Fluiding in an uphill driven
Climb 'cause the workers
Are refusing to give up
Their breaks and find
Faster ways to fill the
Orders for the corporate
Philistines with their
Luxor custom lifestyles
Granted by the gods divine
Of the Order of Elder of the
New Church of the Blind
To the Causes of the
People Who Are Trampled
And Maligned

All the while the workers
Labor for the right to
Live enshrined in their
Live-in love-in levels of insoluble
Aligning heaven hovels of
Incredible indelible design
Where they dream of
No intrusions to the
Interludes benign

your fellow traveler

Flowtrvlr

©2002

It's Your Choice

Choice

Rare

Medium

Well

Grade

Prime

AAA

AA

A

what, no D or F?

Curve

Bell

Half-less, hapless

Half-more, mores 'smores

change partners

Date

Year

Month

Day

Less

Less is more

More or less

Is lesson learned

Learned mind-set

I don't mind

Set

Set

Up

Down

Stage

Door

Exit

Entrance

Enter

Entre

Entree

Dinner

Lunch

Munch a Bunch

of Brunch

Bruncheon

Luncheon

Eon

and Eons

Ago

Ergo?

~~Artwumyn

©2002

A Healthy Dose of Reality

Well, a healthy dose of reality

With a check list for security

And a warning against

The under-inflated claims of

Responsibility

Hello, good-bye

It was fine

Here I am

Where to go

I don't know

What's my name

I'm confused

It was fun

Way too short

Vacations

Have that way

About them

Always end

Just before

They begin

This is here

This is now

This is me

I'm allowed

Another chance

To grow and learn

One more lesson

I'd just like

Just for once

To be done

With the dumps

And be on

To the blessing

Of this lesson

Seems I can't

Get it right

Think I'm wrong

For this flight

'Cause my ticket

Isn't printed out

On paper

Always tears

Always flows

Never stop

Don't you know

That's a sign

Pay attention

To your orders

When you see

The red flag

You're supposed

To move away

Why do I always

Seem to edge

Closer

Once again

Light goes on

Past the noon

Way past dawn

Why so long

For the daylight

To hit my sight

Give it up

It's no use

Not for now

Not for use

Until then

When I really

Don't need it

Just the way

That it goes

Suck it up

And go slow

When you drive

Your bike through

Another turnpike

Deeply sigh

Don't know why

Questions empty

On the fly

Well, I'm busy

What with school

And my whatnots

Let's play

A game

Solitaire

Insanity

With great flair

Sounds like

Fun, but I'd

Rather play

Scrabble

And the rules

Seem all wrong

No other players

A bit harsh

Well, I suppose

Since it's me

Against me

That's a twosome

Idly, I,

Standing by

Wonder who

Will win tonight

Will it be me

Or maybe my

Turn to coup

A shutout

So it goes

Once again

Hanging out

With my twin

Ego to ergo

Tempus fidget

Sum come loud

Ok, that's it

I am done

With this

Stupid piece

Of drudge

Back to work

With a smile

'Cause it's

All right :-x

sigh... ;-)

~~Just Flow~~

Flowtrvlr

©2002

Situationally Functional

Situationally

I am collected

In an orderly fashion

It would appear

Functionally

I am sporadic

Like an automobile

Sputtering and choking

Backfiring and missing

Chugging down the road

Sometimes aimlessly

Maybe I need a tuneup

Flowtrvlr

©12/18/2002

Ah, My Dove, My Beautiful One

Ah, my dove, my beautiful one

Come let us dine on mangos and apricots

Let the cool evening breezes

Lift the hope of our spirits

As we laugh in bright colors

Of cerise and turquoise

Let us stroll by green oceans

Of bright phosphorescence

That sparkle like fireflies

On wavelets of starlight

Let the wet sandy beaches

Beg us stay in our footprints

Till the wash of the neap tide

Hides the trace of our path

Ah, my dove, my beautiful one

Let us wander in unison

Speaking in rhythms timed

In tune with our heartbeats...

Let us listen intently to the

Song of the desert

With it's sky never-ending

And it's stone memories

Let us dance in the moonlight

To the melody playing on the

Harp of the crickets and then...

Fill ourselves full of the

Essence of daybreak when the

Pink dawn of summer swells the

Air with it's breath

Then we'll lie down together on

A bed of green grasses by a stream

Of cool water in a land of our dreams

Ah, my dove, my beautiful one

Come let me love you

As you love me intensely

And we'll pledge with our truth

To be one in our sighs

~~~~~~~Flow~~~~~~~~

Flowtrvlr

©2002

A Perfect Sunset

A more perfect sunset
I have not seen
All pearls of pink
With silks of orange
Dragons firing across the sky

Setting all the surrounding
Hills aflame with desire
Longing to go down
With the sun in flames

While the blooming
Night flower unfolds
Across the sky
Like some undulating
Gypsy dancer bending
Back to entice the stars
And moon to add their
silent rhythms to the dance

I am in awe at nature's
Festival of light and
Soundless color
Spectrumed bright,
Shouting with
Delight to all comers
See me! Touch me!
Know me! Love me!

I come, I see, I touch
I know, I love You
My Jasmine flower
My heart's desire
You--the perfect sunset
In your eyes aflame
With passion's glow
You--the night flower
Of your hair I feel
Against my skin
You--my dove,
My beautiful one

And I am in awe again

~~~~~let it flow~~~~~

Flowtrvlr

©2002

Ah, Wisdom

Ah, wisdom

I love your name

It speaks to me of ancient ways

To love, to seek, to know, to be

To give one's self to higher things

To set aside all worldly cares

To center in on all that shared

From life eternal, universal

Then flow forth like streaming water

From a fountain high upon

A mountain's visage

Hidden from the world below

Given freely to the seeker

Who dares to climb

Your path to heaven

~~Artwumyn

©2002

What is Life?

What is life?

If not a poem,
A demonstration of
speculative hope

And what is hope?
If not a dream,
An integration of
want and need

And what is need?
If not a fact,
Of fundamentally
basic lack

And what is lack?
If not a hole,
A deviation from
seamless flow

And what is flow?
If not a part,
Of all ancestral
memory's start

~~~Your Fellow Traveler~~~

Flowtrvlr

2002

What a Mystery You Are to Me

What a mystery you are to me

What a wonder to behold

What a dream I had that you were mine

In a land so long ago

When a knight rode in on fiery steed

When a fairy came to see

When a love grew up from a tiny seed

In two hearts where dreams were free

Where the knight was deft with his two-edged sword

Where the fairy sang a spell

Where such noble deeds were told of them

In all villages and dells

Why a knight so sworn to gallantry

Why a fairy queen so fair

Why a pair whose bond would seal their fates

In a moment's mission dared

How a knight did say to his lady love

How a fairy was betrothed

How a promise given then is now

In a mystery so told

Who can say what is to a soul so old

Who can know when fairies die

Who can fathom such a mystery

In our hearts where love abides

Faerie Sojourner

©2002

Afternoon in the Rose Garden

A rose garden-peaceful, light,

And thoughts of you, invited, come

In splendor, like the rose,

So beautiful, it’s essence bright.

What color should I name my love

Purest white, or deepest red,

Brilliant yellow like the sun,

Or baby pink and innocent?

Perhaps the orange, all gaily dressed

Like festive parasols in a row

That line the boardwalk in the sun,

Where bathers sit to shade their heads.

Or no, then like the lavender

Pale and quiet, soft and silent,

Fragranced lightly in it’s breath,

All delicate lace, it’s petals fragile.

All lovely scents, all beauty formed

Of nature’s choicest vibrant color

In newest bud or aged bloom

Everywhere I look, I see the wonder.

And then I see you in a rose,

Growing quietly among the rows.

The deepest pink -- a blushing bride

Is not as lovely as this one’s pride,

Which blooming fully in the sun,

Brings you to mind, my dearest one.

It’s fragrance light, it’s blossoms free,

It’s buds coiled tight, it’s leaves deep green.

I see your neck, so soft and fair

So graceful, in it’s petals there.

Within a bloom so perfectly,

I see your face, your smile for me.

And as I touch the velvet side

Of petals opened full and wide,

I see your form in beauty laid,

Your grace before me on your bed.

I want to spend eternity,

Drinking in the sight I see

Before me in the darkened room,

Your loveliness, a rose in bloom

As deeper into me you cling

With every movement as I bring

That cup of water you so desire

I feel, then join your inner fire.

I hear your moan in pounding breast

As our two hearts approach the crest

As higher unto heaven’s state

We climb, until we reach the gate

Of purest bliss, and in that place

With I in you and you in me --

We melt into each other’s heat.

As one pure rose of deepest pink,

The deepest pink

The one I chose,

My sweetheart‘s face,

My darling rose.

Flowtrvlr

©2002

It Started With a Phone Call

It started with a phone call

From my son in San Francisco

A continent away

"Mom, I just called to say

I love you, and I'm thinking

about you today,

and by the way

have you turned on the

television today?"

I told him that I loved him too

And turned on the TV

And didn't turn it off again

For days

Just before the second plane

Just before the pentagon

Just before the farmer's field

Oh, my God

I said

And over and over and over

Again

No, no, no, no,

Running through my head

What kind of madness is this?

What's next, how can it get worse?

What nightmare world

Has opened up and swallowed

All our calm and perfect hope?

Can we just run this backward

And start the tape at the beginning

And change something

Anything

So those planes do something

Different

Besides flying into buildings?

That's only for the movies

And no one really gets hurt

Because it isn't really real

This is too horrible to imagine

To nightmarish to be real

How can this be happening?

And yet these newsmen in their

Unkempt clothes and unwashed

Hair and somber faces

Just keep talking on and on

And I think they are telling me

The truth

My heart is aching, tearing, breaking

For someone I do not know

For so many someones

Who were loved ones

For somebody who is crying, breaking,

Aching, tearing in their heart and soul

For so many someones

Who never will come home

Oh, my God

Over and over and over and over

Again

No, no, no, no

When will it end?

Not before we go to war

Not before we change forever

Not before we pull together

Like never in our lifetimes

Before

Americans united

In grief, in tears, in sorrow

In strength, in faith, in charity

For our fallen brothers

And sisters

And fathers

And mothers

It ended with a phone call

From my son in San Francisco

"I just called to say I love you,

Mom, and I was thinking of you,

Today"

And I dialed back the number

Left a message I was home

I just returned from services

At church in remembrance

Of that day it all began

A year ago

And I still feel the aching

In my heart for someone

I don't even know

And wonder how their family

Is doing now, one year later

After their world turned upside down

Oh, my God

Over and over and over

Again

9/11/01-9/11/02

Earlene McCoy

©2002

National Poetry Day

Today is October 2, 3014 - National Poetry Day. The theme for 2014 is "remember."

It Started With a Phone Call, was written on September 11, 2002 and is about 911 - that horrible day our lives changed forever, September 11, 2001. We will never forget!
The Rape of the Expendable was also written in 2002; my feelings about the Exxon-Valdez oil spill. However, it is applicable to the BP oil spill and the many, many others that have occurred around the world. The terrible damage to each area's wild life and the ecological impact should never be forgotten.
And finally: You Are in Our Thoughts and Prayers, 2003, was posted September 27, 2014, but should be included in our "remembrance" as it is a letter to all service men and women serving abroad and at home. It is as timely today as it was then.
Time passes by so quickly and life goes on, but we remember.

Rape of the Expendable

Glistening drops of oil

Beading up on silent waters

Like quarters on Army beds

Black like the plague of death

They leave behind

Unforgiving of the innocent

Greasy sheets of oil

Clinging to silent feathers

Like shrouds marking mass graves

Carelessly thrown over all

In the rush to cover nakedness

As if the dead cared anymore

Slow unkindly demise

Of Nature's treasures

Rape of the expendable

By the reprehensible

For the untenable

Reason of wealth

God have mercy

On us all

Earlene McCoy

©2002

You Are in Our Thoughts and Prayers

The Dogwoods are in bloom

And I thought of you today

Spring is here already

You were in my prayers last night

Easter will be coming soon

A yellow ribbon marks your chair

The choir is rehearsing songs of praise

And we all miss your voice, your laugh

Your presence in our midst

But we hold you close beside us

In our thoughts and in our prayers

My children have a new baby girl

I'm a grandmother now times three

I went to see her on a sunny day

And I thought of you way over there

In sand and heat, in danger's way

And in my heart I said another prayer

That God would bring you safely home

That He would hold you in His hand

That you would feel His Presence near

While you are in this foreign land

The white and pink of Dogwood trees

Have given way to leaves of green

I held the thought of early spring

And sent it on to you

With baby scent and children's smiles

With laughing friends at bar-b-ques

Oh, and by the way,

Your cat and dog are safe and sound

Although they miss you too

We're doing all we can at home

To keep things running smooth

And each day in our thoughts and prayers

In everything we say and do

There is that thread connecting us

Even through the miles that separate us

No matter what you may be going through

We here at home are holding you

And the sacrifices you're making too

All the while you are over there

You are here in our thoughts and prayers

Thank you,

Artwumyn

c.2003