A Poem for Meri with Don Intonato
THE RED PEONY
One red peony,
cluster of red-cupped petals,
arrived this morning
wrapped in green paper,
anonymously.
I am not accustomed
to having flowers
next to me when I write.
You should always keep
beauty at a distance.
But today I put
the red peony in a vase
and placed it
beside me on my desk.
This ardent flower
looking at me
as though we
have always
known each other,
insisting on my attention.
And I vaguely remember her,
the longing,
a woman’s face
in the window
on the other side of time.
It is hard to be sure.
Fate is not precise.
She finding her cut stem
in a vase on my desk,
hoping I will recognize
her scarlet incarnation,
her lotus-shaped blossoms.
And I,
long having lost
a woman I loved,
a woman transcendent
like a flower,
so want this one red peony
to be my love reborn.
It is Karma
to live and come back
And come back again.
Red Peony,
Your face is so familiar.
My Beloved,
I have followed you
through time.
HER MAJESTY THE SEA by Holly Seal Kunicki
Forever the sea will reign as Queen
for she’s the mistress of men’s dreams.
Her boundless waters and infinite tide
create the vast expanses where life abides.
Some say she’s gentle and a friend to all
bringing warm breezes and gulls that call.
Beckoning children to play on her shore
she gathers seashells for them to store.
Some say she’s nothing more than a thief
hiding sunken treasure along shoals and reefs.
Gold doubloons, silver bars and, gems galore
are awaiting discovery on her ocean floor.
Some say she’s cruel with a driving desire,
yet men still come to conquer and admire.
Her violent storms bring wreckage ashore
of ships that have sailed her and are no more.
Her shimmering surface so vivid and bright
sparkles and gleams in the morning light.
With crowning glory, she meets the new dawn.
Her Majesty the Sea lives on and on.
