|
Patrice's poem" The Persimmon Tree Speaks to the Raven"s has been published in a new book by Green Poet Press.
A Bird Black As the Sun
edited by Enid Osborne and Cynthia Anderson
(Green Poet Press/2011) ISBN-10 0615536328
In this diverse anthology, over 80 of the Golden State’s finest poets hold forth on the theme of crows and ravens — offering passionate, vivid, sometimes humorous, and ever-surprising views of these common yet mysterious bird.
THE PERSIMMON TREE SPEAKS TO THE RAVENS
— for Eleanor
If I didn't have my once-a-year flash of color,
if all of me weren't about ripening and fruition,
I'd wish for your shiny, year-round depth of hue.
If my feet weren't enduringly rooted
beside the dance hall window,
I'd envy the innumerable destinations
you so loudly chatter about:
telephone wire across a busy intersection—
bright cars racing for the finish,
street lamp below which heady students
exchange ideas, a ship's mast second's before departure
onto the thrashing, open sea.
The sweep of your flight flushes my cheeks
We make good partners, ravens,
though it's always you who must choose me.
Even to sing I require wind,
but then my voice is only like a girl's skirts rustling
as she walks across the floor into some boy's arms,
while your song is an unrelenting cacophony.
Together we make a painting.
At the height of my glory, come late autumn,
you descend as a crowd upon me, settling your wings.
Gray daylight startles at the sight of us.
I stand straightest then, as when paired dancers
lean against the window, press their hot bodies close.
My orange globes fill you with longing,
fluttering my leaves till they fall.
Eat of me. Take your fill.
Patrice Vecchione
from A Bird Black as the Sun, 2011
edited by Enid Osborne and Cynthia Anderson
Green Poet Press
|
