So The Moon Would Not Be Swallowed - Award Of Merit (2008) The Word Guild

<i>So The Moon Would Not Be Swallowed</i> - Award Of Merit (2008) The Word Guild
A poetic journey with the poet's missionary grandparents to the China they served in between 1923 and 1951. CHECK OUT THE REVIEWS OF BOTH BOOKS (below)

Monday, July 16, 2007

Poem: WIND

for G.K. Chesterton

The child in my arms
watches wind
stir leaves & draperies
He’s learning what is real

He’s no language
for breeze --or breath --or spirit
This nebulous trembling
hasn’t crept as close as other familiar movements
a wagging pendulum --or the tumble
of his mother’s hair towards him

We learn wind is just wind through naming wind
We speak of wind --as our parents
& their parents --spoke of wind
Although this wild & startling world
won’t explain itself --the dust returns
to its consistent settling after every storm

The child in my arms
watches --& wants to understand
Although there’s more than he’ll know
he’s learning to be at home here

(This poem first appeared in Rock & Sling)