Surrender

I gaze into soft brown eyes that smile

as warm hands hold me, melt me.

Slowly ... slowly the clothing falls away

and I am left exposed – delighting in

           my nakedness, in the desire in

           your eyes.

Your kisses reach inside me; touch me

            in wonderful places; soft, quiet

            places of my soul.

Your gentle hands stroke my face, cradle

            my face ...

And my body opens to you, ready and longing

            for your touch.

And you fulfill me – as I gaze into your eyes.

It is you:  your hands; your tongue; your presence –

That bring me to such heights –

             to such delights.

1980

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

© Doris Potter

Survivor

At the flower shop she made her choice.

She'd found the one with nicest bloom.

In her expertise she did rejoice,

This plant would glorify her room.

And then at home, a fine surprise!

Beneath the leaves was another shoot

That had escaped her searching eyes

And defiantly had taken root.

She was intrigued, and marvelled at

This little plant – what could he be?

Exotic species? no doubt about that!

Unique and special she could see.

She named him "Survivor", and sought to tell

His story to all who saw him there.

She watched him grow and thrive so well –

A testament to her skillful care.

And then one day, she learned that he

Was a common weed that had taken root

In another's pot – and shamefully

She'd mistaken him for a special shoot.

"Survivor", she thought, was her claim to fame

But her judgment of him had been too rash.

In the end he had only brought her shame.

She threw him away with the trash.

1999

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

© Doris Potter

Winter Descent

       She struggles forward – her head bent low

       Buffeted by winds and blowing snow.

         Deep drifts and gusts erase her path,

           She vainly battles winter's wrath.

             Strength is lost with every step.

               Finally, there's nothing left.

                 Laying down her head

                   On a snowy bed

                     So soft and deep

                       Inviting sleep.

2019

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

© Doris Potter

River Side Blues

 

The tree stands at the river's side –

Its gangly roots exposed

like the legs of a young girl

with hiked up skirt

to wade into the waters.

But for all her longing,

she cannot enter

to follow its seductive flow ...

for her roots go deep

and she's held steadfast

despite her downstream dreams.

The tree stands at the river's side –

and cannot leave her place

even when the rising waters

entice with playful laps

at exposed ankles.

2001

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

© Doris Potter

Enlightenment

We humans endlessly aspire

to reach new levels ever higher.

Such lofty goals for sullied souls ...

The animals – already there –

know not of triumph nor despair.

Content to be, regardlessly.

They have a knowing far beyond

that which we seek.

And with the planet have a bond

that is unique.

A turtle basking in the sun,

has he not managed to be one

with the Universe?

2018

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

© Doris Potter

Point Nemo

 

It's hard to know what brought me here –

yearning to be far from reach.

Do not try to reach me.

My desire is not to regain the shore.  It's not in finding land that I'll be saved.

I choose to stay at sea ...

lost ... but saved

by the vast blue horizon that calms my soul.

Do not try to reach me.

2018

Note:  the place on Earth furthest from land is called "Point Nemo" or "the oceanic pole of inaccessibility".

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

© Doris Potter

Cat In The Moonlight

My Willow comes to the bedside and the moonlight halves

her little upturned face into light and shadow.

The moonlit eye beseeches me to invite her up.

The silvering of her fur accentuates the line of her flanks

and her feline beauty.

I pat the bed and, in an instant, she alights beside me

and curls up in contentment.

2017

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

© Doris Potter