Invitation and Other Poems
By Laurel Kirkwood
Copyright 2001
INVITATION
Bone thin fragile one,
tiny starveling, you
refuse the things
that would nourish you.
You approach my table,
never take your place
turn away and leave,
hungry and longing.
I don’t know this fast
you keep or who it serves.
Tell me, does its virtue
even have a name?
You are wasting from
inside to outside,
shrunken and shriveled,
becoming a ghost.
I would feed you
If you would let me.
Sit at my table.
Feast with me.
copyright 2001
CIRCLE AND RHYTHM
Circle and rhythm:
snow whirls, buds burst, leaves meet ground;
Creation whispers:
My breath, body, and heartbeat
I share with you, my children.
OUTSIDE PRESCOTT
Dark angular man
wears his hat just right. He leans
against his truck, takes
a long, slow drink. He watches
the sun set. Hello, cowboy.
THE POND
After a dozen
dry years the pond is now full.
How the cattails wave
dragonflies dance, bull frogs sing.
They rejoice; all is restored.
DUNES
The wind erases
our footprints on the dunes, makes
the grass draw circles
around itself; it even
reshapes the hills over time.
copyright 2001