lady peacock

thunder

thunder
are you speaking to me

whispering
like a restless elephant

unsettling rocks
in the dark hills

ask them now, your trembling stones
who is their master

and whose caressing voice
pins my throat to the earth

ask them
who, from high above
do they see circling
like a great cat in the darkness

will my heart take notice
thunder
are you calling me

barrel cactus

Goldfinch

more than a jewel,
yellow streak
on tawny wings

world of gold
what are you taking hold of
inside me

you have captured us
I and
the yellow starflower

pulled into the power of your dance
while you sit motionless
radiant
on the tip of a branch

the zebra swallowtail
lifts its translucent wings
towards you
as if to the noon sun

and my soul, no longer soiled
spills out its true color

yellow, not adorned
but born, like you
pure native light

and flying,
even at rest

peacock

there is no forever in love

love, you have
my everything
for this moment only

Paradise, you know
must be lured like a bird
to one’s heart

in stealth
and stillness, while its tiny feet
move closer

until finally
its feathers brush against you

and the murmur
of its pulse
ripples your chest

not even daring to breathe
you hold
your stalker’s pose

flooded
by a sudden hurricane
of joy

afraid the brief wind
of your exhaled breath
might break the spell

you have my everything
for this moment only

ask me for forever, love
ask again