What leads me out
On a night like this
Bleak it seems
By the indoor light
But the darkness calls
I step along like I hold her hand
As around my shoulders
She settles down
A velvet cloak 
Of soft midnight
And the moon swims up
In an orange hood 
And the branches hold her high
And the mist rolls in
From all four woods  
And the night winds moan
And the night wings fly
As we traipse along
By a single star
That pricks it’s way through
A quilted sky
And the clouds throw veils
Across the moon
In a ghostly ship they sail
And the world spins round
And whirls us in
To an orchestra
Of the darkness sounds
And I lay my head 
On my moonlit friend
And the lamp indoors
Lights an empty bed

Sara Mathews     October 2021

I am the moon
And she is me
I push my face into the sky
I taste the salt of tides
I hear the owl
She hears me too
Whoo are you
I am a creature of the night
Like you
These dark ships of cloud I ride
And scuttle like the leaves that fly
Fly higher
Whisk me round a curl of wind
To dance a spectral tune
And settle me back down
Beneath that mother tree
Again 
That reaches to the moon
And I will sleep
Upon her autumn quilt
And I will dream 
In yellow red
And gold 

Sara Mathews     October 2021

I wait for you
In the quiet of the evening
When the trees grow solemn
And the breezes cease
Just at that moment 
Between late
And early
An interlude so peaceful
You can feel the turn 
Of afternoon
An exhale of day tide
An inhale of sweet soft night
Just now the birds lull 
To anticipated silence
And watch to the West
This breath of complete stillness
An earthly offering
A ritual 
And as dusk descends
Sifting round the edges
Of another chapter closed 
Together
With hushed tree
Expectant sky
Bowing blossom 
And gentle bird
I wait for you

Sara Mathews     October 2021

There is no color to describe
This sky
This river of the same
Shake the world 
Upend this scene
Which way can only tell
By where they flow
And only then 
By whence you came
The Eagle soars
Not caring for the sunning snake
Who shares my riverbank
Does he dream like me
The coldest winter long
To wait for days like these
This is where we all begin 
Sift the sand and find the broken bits
The washed up ends 
Curing here like bones
I wouldn’t mind I think
My bones to join them here one day
Beside the basking snake
Below the mighty Eagle’s 
Glittering eye
Great Heron’s wing to shelter me
The river scrolls it’s way
Ever and anon
Eddying cloud and sun
Meandering some
A journey never fully made

Sara Mathews     September 2021

 

The night is soft spoken
Satin like a sigh
Erasure edged
Blurred defining lines
Of what is here and now
And what was then and you
The evening somehow brings you back
It’s been so many nights
Just why this one
With all the curtains drawn
And air so light as it is heavy 
You know those skies
That settle in and keep you
Weighted to the gloom
Yet feathery too 
Caressing thoughts and teasing
Apparitions from the wings
If you can leave that feeling
You have a stronger will than mine
I am a captive to these clouds
Of memories
I sit here all night through
And wait for what it is
You’ve still to say
The mists of pewter prowl
Around the trees
Obscure the lawns
The streets
Encroaching ever closer
And now in silver breaths
And whispery goodbyes
They cover me

Sara Mathews     October 2021

The sun shines so cheerfully
On my sadness
What can I make of it
She is not unaware
She does not lack compassion
And too
The bright blue sky
Clear as a brilliant sea of
All my sorrow
I clutch a fragile branch
That quivers ‘neath each heavy sigh
And one small bird
Sings joyfully
And flits about 
And gathers my discomfiture 
Attracted to my company

Sara Mathews    September 2021

Artwork ~ Duy Huynh (used with permission)

https://www.duyhuynh.com/duy-huynh-artwork/

 

How does one know

How many quarts of blood 

A horse courses

Unless one is that horse 

Shaking a free mane

Unbridled as a wide sky

Insistent as the hoof beats

Pound against a heart

60 beats a minute

40 quarts strum hot

And loud 

A bold ecstatic bass

Reverberates your veins

Run 

Run for all the herd

And all their worth

Throw the mundane harness

Snort and stamp 

Make for the wild hills

Sara Mathews      September 2021

This morning

The earth is rich with night
Sleep little flowers
The sun is away
A day to rest
A same for me
Breathe the lack of movement
The muted pulse of lassitude
Grow your roots today
Deeper
With all the quiet knowledge
Don’t speak
Don’t please
Don’t bloom
And we will love each other
Even more

Sara Mathews   July 2021

Artwork by Luiza Vizoli

https://www.luizavizoli.shop/shop

 

Dear February
You need an ode
Ere you depart
We’re captivated 
By the sum of you
The days 
The moods
The winds you’ve wrought
The icy moons
The gentle snows
Your beauty fierce
Your willful throes

Of tides

And tears
The rise and swell
The month wrapped up
Your final thought
And now
Before you slip away
A touch of warmth
A softened heart
We watch you turn 
Another year
Goodbye
Godspeed 
You’ve done it well

Sara Mathews   February 2021 ~ Charles Burchfield
 

A bird of darkness
Has come to rest
Within my chest
He perches on my heart
Pinching me with talons sharp
And conquering
With one black feathered flag
I saw him sailing in 
And circling for
Landing
I tried to wave him off
I made all sorts of flapping
Clapping
Shooing
Shouting
Crazy like a scarecrow
Moves
To chase this dour fellow
From my day
But he is resolute
And clings to me
For morbid company
And rudely
Overstays   

Sara Mathews   2015/ David Ladmore (used with permission)

http://davidladmore.com/oils_crows_and_cats_page.html
 

The sun is the butter

The milk is the sky

And I am the fed

The wind is protector

The rain clears the chatter 

And I am the daughter

A breath is a fortune

A word is a motto

And I am the scribe

And the lung

And the wish

Each morning is gifted

Each evening is prayed to

And I am the sated

The blessed and 

The grateful

Amen

Sara Mathews     January 2021

Photo by Ingrid Mathews

 

My thoughts scroll by
I’m lucky to catch one
Cocky little birds
Flitting and chattering on
Quite happy to elude me
Chipping and teasing
Surfing the day
And hobo cloud
And southbound wind
Steal my words 
Whistling 
Laughing  
Seizing the morning
And wondering at me
Dull as an anchor 
Grounded as clay

Sara Mathews     January 2021

Duy Huynh https://www.duyhuynh.com/

 

All long night 
The winds blew change
Without a pause
Or catch-a-breath
They blew as though they
Needed to
To sort
And clear and
Rearrange
They tugged the dark
And folded it
They wracked the branch
And swept the moon
They buffeted against my sleep
And pushed the limits
Of their might
I thought I’d wake to find a calm
Or peaceful scene made
Resolute
But on they carry
On and on

 Sara Mathews     January 2021
Charles E Burchfield ~ December Storm

Goodnight

Goodnight
We’ll hush the light
And as we sleep 
The dark retreats
May I carry safely through
The valuables entrusted me
A whispered breath to
Search inside
A little voice resounding wise
A box of sadness safely held
And ribboned with a tender twine
A heart of good and earnest hope  
A heart of losses 
Never lost
A treasure chest of empty maps
To chart them at my own behest 
A spade to delve
A star to wear
The armor for a warrior

Sara Mathews     January 2021

Alphonse Maria Mucha ~ Woman in the wilderness ~ 1923

Such a hopeful day

While I slept long

The blue seeped in

To every corner

Of the sky

The puffs of white

Arranged just so

And a golden orb

That hung just right

To glow upon each

Upturned soul

And the earth sang out

In choruses

Of bird and tree 

And we

Rejoicing 

Rejoicing

Sara Mathews     January 2021

Edvard Munch ~ The Sun ~ 1909