A crow plucked my heart
And hung it on a tree
For the whole world to see.
Pleas and protests, in vain
The mischievous creature
Pecked at my core insisting
“Be love, be bold and bare it all!”
process note: I’ve mentioned (somewhere else) before that I never regarded crows as extraordinary birds. But that was until I got introduced to this amazing work.
The poem excerpt is in response to Midweek Motif, “Seeking the Extraordinary in the Ordinary” at Poets United.
Cows chew cud
Rondavels flourish
This a paradise;
The ocean stirs
And sardines run.
Posted for Midweek Motif at Poets United.
A pinch nestles
in the chamber
air between leaves
A light tamp
another pinch
thumb seals aroma
A little murmur
fingers fumble
the match strikes
Anticipation―
the flame dances
tobacco crackles
Lips pleasured
the senior draws
pipe long as arm
A mouthful taste
before release;
she builds clouds
Another puff, stares
unblinking into the
Indian Ocean
note: The poem is in response to the Midweek Motif at Poets United. Pipe smoking ritual in Xhosa culture is practiced by elders of both sexes. The practice is deemed a way of communicating with the ancestors, and less about addiction to smoking.