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Prevost Apr 2021

Heritage

they said he never wore gloves
even on the coldest days of winter
that he worked the reins of his team
in sub below weather
back and forth with loads of grain
they swore that it was true

they said that he always won the competition
of carrying grain sacks up a set of stairs
and that afterwards everyone wanted to fight him
he would drink for days
leaving my father to sleep under the wagon
they said he never lost a fight

they said he never trusted banks
and he kept his money hidden in his mattress
and when the banks failed
he had the cash to buy up all the homesteads
that had become broken dreams

they said he was a tough old Frenchman
who harnessed the hills
and built a small empire
he fathered thirteen children
and built a modern home in town
when he could no longer bend the land
to his will

I just know that he cut deep wounds
into my father’s heart
and my father in turn
cut them in me

perhaps it is why I never had children

My grandfather had sixty one grandchildren, but not one of them produced a male heir to carry on his name. Interesting....

Prevost Mar 2021

Hang the Rich

the edges quiver
as surfeit suffices the small
and the bitter sing dances
that barren body and soul
am I the child of a poor god
the mouth
the hand
and I

Prevost Mar 2021

somewhere it is reflected
perhaps it is your shadow
that bounces off the moon
and comes back to you
as wisdom dredged from the depths
of the unassuaged moments of need
that stretched you from one point
to the next
from one lover
to the next
from one room
to the next
from one dream
to the next

we spend our heartbeats freely
the infinite supply of youth
they become more precious
as the grave slowly deepens
what wisdoms do we stuff in our pockets
as we step into the grave
and move on from this life
to the next

Prevost Mar 2021

Falling Into Heaven

in a flash she came back to me
that day
gray with heavy dark clouds
the scent of fallen rain
separated from time

the explorer child
balancing on high
drawing in the view
carving off pieces of his new world
alone and brave

when his foot lost its ability
the fall
descending back to earth
but head met earth transformed
hardened steel hidden in the grass

then I died
my body floated back into sky
I remember passing through layers
of my ephebic existence
still alone and brave

I felt nothing but saturated calm
laying on brilliant blue pedestal
in a dark void
I started to become peace
then..... a voice

her arms gathered me up
placing her hand on my head
she spoke firmly
“you do not belong here”
“you must go back”

instantly I knew it was all wrong
and somehow I chose to return
pulling myself off the ground
I ran to the adults
but the child could not articulate

When I was very young I fell off a fence and died. The experience was all very vivid in my memory for a short period of time, then it faded. For years and years it remained buried. And then a couple of years ago I suddenly remembered it all. I can’t explain it any better today than when I tried on that day to tell my mother that I had fallen off a fence and died.
This poem was triggered by old poet MK’s “Stardust Benediction”

Mar 2021

Lori Jones McCaffery

BIRD FEEDER

The Humming Bird feeder is full to the top.
Do they not come around any more?
The tree is bare of its sheltering leaves
So it’s not out of sight like before.

In this Winter of feeling afraid and alone
The tiniest bird can bring joy
And hope that tomorrow will come as a gift
That we can unwrap like a toy.

The days have drug by at a crippling pace;
People have gone by the wayside.
It seemed like eternity marched on ahead
And life was just one frozen sleigh ride.

As we slowly awake from a desperate sleep
It’s clear we’re not out of the woods,
But at last in front of us there is a path
That will lead us from evil to good.

A light has come on in our government’s home;
The dark specter’s been wafted away.
A promise of better times floats on the breeze
With the chance for a sunnier day.

As I look out the window, my heart skips a beat
The sun glances off glistening wings
I see not one, but two humming birds
At the feeder, and now my heart sings.
ljm

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