Daffodils and Dandelions

 

The daffodil – tended and tame

fashioned by man to an ideal –

In gardens wide it draws acclaim

and yet for me there's no appeal.

The dandelion – scorned as weed,

yet rivalling the sun's bright glow,

thrives on its own and has no need,

for metal spade, nor trowel, no hoe –

And spreading far by windblown seed

it's wild and free to simply grow.

For me that's all I need to know.

2020

(from the book Discoveries In The Dark by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter

Wild Bird

Wild bird – you thrash and throw

yourself against my walls.

What led you here, off course

and lost and finding no escape?

There ... held fast between my palms,

I turn and walk towards the light.

With open hands and heart ...

I give you back the sky.

1995 (from the book Discoveries In The Dark by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter

Wild winged wishes

When I was a young girl and feeling a need to escape the boundaries of my life, I imagined I could call a beautiful, wild, winged horse. This horse would let me climb on her back and we would soar above my troubled world. It was a feeling of pure freedom. Since reaching adulthood, I put these fantasies aside but still there is a part of me that hopes she would hear my call were it to be made today.

WILD WINGED HORSE

She stands alone - wind ruffled mane -
Tossed and wild –
Nothing tamed.

Then surges upwards - unfettered.
Strong and fearless –
Un-tethered.

My heart soars with the wild, winged horse
Who loves the open sky
And I, who loves the horse, do know
What wondrous ride she could bestow.
For which I’d gladly risk it all
Yes, even risk the deathward fall
To have but done it once.