WHAT I CANNOT TEACH YOU
How to awake in the night
in harmony with darkness,
how to be grateful for
ragged days of winter,
how to love your life
even as its fire dies,
its ashes cool.
SHRINE
Touch it, bend it, drop it,
let it weather in all seasons–
it will remain steadfast.
The dependable heft
creates in us a longing
in this cyber world
replete with flimsy promises
and disguise.
Give me a solid piece of earth,
a steely hunk of matter,
and I will make a shrine
to honor and live by.
HOLD YOUR HORSES
Lasso truth
like a run-away steer
and you will find its veins
running cold.
Approach it like a lover
with a ribbon for her hair
and truth, in time,
will lean in your direction.
Miriam Pederson 