Saturday, February 4, 2017

SOLITARY STAR




Solitary star
is it cold up 
where you are?
Through bare and brittle 
winter branches
I can see you
sparkling clear,
shining your brightest
just before
you disappear.

The rooster is 
softly crowing
in the barnyard,
a sleepy sound, 
reluctant in the chill.
My wolf-dog pads,
silent and old,
beside me.
The day is coming
when he no more will.

Nine white swans
in formation
now come gliding 
almost noiselessly
winging overhead.
Noses pointed west,
they're heading towards
the water.
Nine swans,
and yet they
mate for life
it's said.

Now daybreak crests
the silver-peaked mountains,
lighting the frozen rooftops
etched in ice.
Tall cedars turn
from black and 
towering giants
to green again,
their beauty
beyond price.

I breathe the essence 
of this winter morning,
wood-smoke on the air
as starshine fades.
My windows are lit up
and, warm and waiting,
is the cozyness
of this little home
I've made.
I feel the blessing
rich with
all life's worth,
just to have
another day
like this
alive 
on Planet Earth.







I wrote this in 2010, when I was still living in my little trailer, during Pup's last winter. Yesterday I walked under the same trees and remembered this walk, hearing his feet padding slowly, knowing soon he would be gone. And now Jasmine and Lukey are gone too. and I am about to make a great leap over the mountains, leaving one more cozy nest behind me and beginning a new chapter within sound of the sea. Life brings amazing changes.

Sharing this snowy weekend with the good folk in the Poetry Pantry at Poets United.


27 comments:

  1. What a beautiful poem for a snowy day, Sherry. Despite the snow, there are blessings...and there is another warm nest on the horizon!

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  2. And now Jasmine and Lukey are gone too
    Life brings amazing changes.

    Yes, and companions human or otherwise were there in between to provide the joys of living.

    Hank

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  3. Nine swans,
    and yet they
    mate for life
    it's said.
    ...Wow Sherry, that hit home. One of my favourite lines from all your poems..this touched me deep today.

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  4. A very beautiful poem. I love the lines about the swans too.

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  5. A lovely rumination over life and the blessings of a new day. You create a picturesque and spiritual atmosphere in this verse. :-)
    -HA

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  6. What a poignantly beautiful poem Sherry if I wasn't a man I would cry (Shh, I probably will anyway).

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  7. This is such a beautiful poem, Sherry. I am glad to have a chance to read it again.

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  8. Now daybreak crests
    the silver-peaked mountains,
    lighting the frozen rooftops
    etched in ice.
    Tall cedars turn
    from black and
    towering giants
    to green again,
    their beauty
    beyond price.


    Sigh... such breathtaking imagery, Sherry ❤️

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  9. your poem paints such a breathtakingly lovely winterscape. the imagery is so timeless.

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  10. Thank you for this poem, my friend. I am happy for moments like these recycling through my awareness and reality. The subtle reference to 9 swans mating for life brings loss dizzying and part of the ongoing beauty.

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  11. A beautiful poem and I pray that you find many blessings in your new home. xx

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  12. Sherry, it is right to remember the journey that lead you to now. You will embark on a new chapter as that was always the divine plan that you reach your place of heart to explore those shores that breathe new life into your soul. Happy Trails my friend, go with a knowing heart that all will work out.

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  13. I was lost, for a time, in your beautiful words. Thanks for the journey!

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  14. Again you have grabbed by heart, squeezed, and I am stunned, tears cloud my sight. Sometimes the journey seems long, sometimes just over night. Each one a snowflake, no two alike. xoxoxoxohugs

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  15. Your words and pictures are gems previous

    Happy Sunday Sherry

    Much love...

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  16. Stunning, and so alive, Sherry. Thanks for reminding us that even when things are so bleak, we should never forget our blessings.

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  17. Your beautiful description of a winter's evening makes for a nice extended metaphor for the impermanence of things.

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  18. Love the photos.We are having a massive heat wave here in the outback so your lovely winter poem is very cooling and welcome. I return also to the sand and sea next week. Although there is something extraordinarily beautiful about desert heat...the trouble is you cannot be everywhere at once:)

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  19. Love the contrast between the cold outside and the warmth of the blessing you found in your cozy home. So touching and heartwarming. And those photos are stunning......so much snow!!!

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  20. There is something so firm and affirming in this piece for me--life does bring its joys and sorrows doesn't it?

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  21. one of your very best, Sherry. Mesmerizing and beautiful ~

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  22. What a peaceful scene you have written. I took a little vacation.

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  23. Their beauty beyond price.... lovely. Great photos, Sherry. Again I've enjoyed reading your work.

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  24. What a beautiful work. The nine swans brought some doubt into the perfection of it all. A good reminder that it is important to be thankful for simply being.

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  25. This is so beautifully sketched and illustrated with your wonderful photographs. It spoke to me on so many levels. I especially enjoyed your reference to the swans overhead (Nine swans, and yet they mate for life it's said). I had a haunting - transcendent, really - interlude with 2 swans,in Beacon Hill Park years ago, before they were removed (or removed themselves after the park halted continuing to pinion their wings on the grounds of cruelty) and I have read that they have formed their own natural preserves - particularly in the Comox Valley region. That must be a magnificent sight to see.

    I really enjoyed this poem, Sherry - up there with some of your best work ... albeit: a crowded pinnacle. Smiles.

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  26. A beautiful poem, beautiful words. And yes, beautiful photos,

    Elizabeth

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  27. I do love rhyming poetry, and this is a fine example. Thanks, Sherry!

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