View From A Window

 

Battered by rain and wind,

the window pane shudders

from the violent assault.

Spattered glass displays

trees that sway and buck

in defiance of the gale,

Until a swift alchemy

turns the leaden skies

into streams of gold.

2020

(from the book Longing For The Light by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter

Starlight

I stumble through the night

Wishing there were starlight.

The path is long and dark

Lacking any landmark.

Then as the end comes near

Strong winds arrive to clear

The sky of all that bars

The grandeur of the stars.

They shine on me below,

Offering their guidance,

And my starlight shadow

Walks with me in silence.

2021

(from the book Longing For The Light by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter

If You Can't Find Me In My Bed

If you can't find me in my bed,

come out and look for me under the moon.

Listen to the notes of the robin's song in the pre-dawn night.

I'll be in the shadows with the cats and skunks and raccoons.

I'll be crouching between wall and wheel filling up their bowl.

And I'll be filling my lungs with the scent of trees and grass and earth.

And I will listen to the notes of the robin's song in the pre-dawn night.

June 2018

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

© Doris Potter

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

Golden-crowned Kinglet

 

Such tiny head to hold a crown –

how was your coronation?

I hope you deigned to settle down

during the grand occasion.

Your fleeting visits come in spring –

and loyal subjects greet you.

In fall you're once again passing

although we wish to keep you.

And so, my little feathered king,

long may your reign continue.

Noblesse oblige is what you bring –

this virtue lies within you.

2021

(from the book Longing For The Light by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter

Return of the Red-winged Blackbirds

 

With only remnants left of snow,

And cold and frost now letting go,

There comes my truest sign of spring

With scarlet epauletted wing.

His flash of red is nature's beacon

To say that winter's grip will weaken.

And when the air fills with his song

Of cheering notes so rich and strong,

I know that spring will not be long.

2019

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

© Doris Potter

A Vegan's Lament

How can long-time animal activists fail

to see that consistency must prevail?

Not only the steer or broiler 

suffers under the knife.

The dairy cow and laying hen

suffer throughout their longer life ...

only to meet the same blade.

Pictures flash in graphic display

on computer screens, day by day.

Atrocities are not in doubt –

no, that secret's out.

But sadly ...

convenience trumps conscience;

preferences trump principles.

Those whose eyes have seen,

whose ears have heard, 

and yet can turn away

for a good night's sleep

with an egg and dairy meal 

the very next day,

fail in a most profound way.

2018

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

© Doris Potter