Poems for a Small Place to Rest - Poetry by Michael Mayo

Page VI

You needn't worry about tomorrow:
The lilac has already scented the air
even while you've been asleep

Full moon out walking
her Big Bear -
Ssssh! Don't move!

Moist sand, blue waters, clear sky
I stretch out upon the shore
Two gulls fly by
Accept yourself

Emptying the hours, I shell peas

We part on good terms
knowing well we'll meet again
but still, the tears

A bluejay among plum tree branches -
what song
in my throat, now?

Morning sky holds up its great mirror
and I walk through
one flowering day after another

Rereading some of my poems -
I have missed the point again!

for L.

Waking from a nap, the friend I hadn't
seen in so long, disappears again

Those grains of sand I once sent you
between the love sheets of a long letter
Ten years now, is it?

City's shrouded in fog -
I dance naked
about my room

Pieces of dreams
glimmer on -
empty wishing well

At the cool edge of the stream
I dangle my feet in -
O minnows come nibble on these
for awhile!

Spring rain -
how I thought the daffodils
would never bloom

Some stones skim well on calm water: clear mind

Tired of listening to my poetry,
the cat preens himself

If I came to speak with you of my love
you'd only think me a fool
so I keep my mouth shut
but my writing knows better

Gardenia bud
opens -
hey, now it's my turn

After making love, the moon looks fuller this evening

Pay attention: the water in the shallows
isn't as wet as having to swim

I caught his brown eye -
summer daisy

We are all asleep somehow
in the inner world -
Where is the one
whose brass bell rings true?

Picking burrs from my socks -
A question I left unanswered yesterday

Warehouse cat shits
on cold floor,
keeps winter mice away

Five tulips in a vase -
I stick my nose in one -
Bzzz!

In my ragged morning-robe
dreams unravel
thread by thread

Setting the book aside -
a fragrance -
the magnolia calls out

That is how we grow then:
Between starts and fits
the eye that brings us light

for George and David

We strip down, the sea fits our bodies so well

The path back to my heart now covered with brambles, I set out
by another route

Birds at dawn -
I hear their cries -
Awakening!

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