Opus: Mori

she jarred death

she jarred death
in formalin of  verse…
and in her Amherst bedroom
wrote slant recordings
of its vagaries

penciled her disdain
on margins… paper scraps
of Western Union telegrams
used envelopes, blank ledgers
butcher wrap

preserved their disposition
to hand sewn fascicles
she buried in chest drawers…
her studied insolence
awaiting resurrect

Bonnie Marshall

Artwork by Victoria Brookland

 

 

 

And I shall lie me down

And I shall lie me down
beneath a cedar pine
where its blue shadows
fade noon’s intensity.

And I shall lie me down
beside a rushing stream
where cascading waters
soothe my errant thought.

And I shall lie me down
deep… in spicy aromatics
where rich golden resin
suffuses breathless air.

And I shall gather up
into transcendent light
where pain and sorrow
eternity disperse

Bonnie Marshall

Photo Credit: Unknown

 

 

freeze frame

dire…dire
fishing vessels
tuna crammed
for market
founder
at a brink
of shore dash
or sea sailing
great waves
precipitous
with menace
suspend
and there it is
the freeze frame
instant
life and death
print block moment
catastrophic
tantalizing
crash in abeyance
to the viewer’s whim
or wishing
or cursing
of its fractal
audacity

Bonnie Marshall

Artwork by Katsushika Hokusai

 

what poets do

                                                                                for kb
                                                                                dear poet friend
                                                                                and inspiration

poets…
write poem Baedekers
for us — as presence maps…
offer field glass insight
for us—as sharper focus…
print a compass rose
for us—as direction place

poets…
skate ideas
on image blades
suspended above thought
untested for the weight
and necessary friction
of slicing across time

poets…
sonar the Marianas
of their inmost self…
probe the deeps
of truth and beauty
for exotics there

 

Bonnie Marshall

Artwork by Kathryn Matthews