This Winter’s Day
For Mary Oliver
a full quorum of snow
covers my backyard
in the color it should be
in January
reclaiming the brown
winter-dormant grass
that drones a longing
into the back of my mind
I write this tribute poem
on the day after your passing
and it seems
it should be snowing
the sun bowing homage
while it reads your poems
allowing you to be
the one to shine today
You, of course,
would give the clouds
center stage
that slow us into
a deeper rhythm
for this one day,
this one wild and precious day
in this one wild
and precious life
You would take time
to count crows
and weave ibis wings
upon your tongue
seeking prayers
in a blade of grass
beneath a broken bottle
in an abandoned city lot
your knees knowing the soil
and the winds, your voice
and for so many of us,
your precious words
wild and free
January 18, 2019
(Read on Colorado Public Radio, received a letter of gratitude from State Rep Joe Neguse)
