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