smells

©2023 michael raven

is there a point
to smelling something
no one else can smell?
boiled cabbage and
cardboard, best as
i can tell and then...
well, that's another
story to sell, one
nobody will buy

otter & cattail

©2023 michael raven

notification thunderstorms
from my phone and
i recall days at the lake
gliding around in the canoe
with the lily pads and
their bright yellow blossoms
cattails swaying in a
gentle wind, dragonflies
clinging effortlessly and
an otter swimming on
his back, nibbling
on fish for lunch
if i could go there today
i am afraid i might toss
my little storm out into the
deepest part of the lake
and forget to paddle home

The above was prompted by life and card XXXIX from the Woodland Wardens oracle deck, “The Otter and Cattail (peace)”.

automaton me

©2023 michael raven

some days are
'going under days'
& this feels like one

fade to black, drop out
burrow under blankets
& shut the world off

impossible, of course
even upcoming birth
anniversaries are no recourse

automaton that i am
moves on & on & on
Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels.com

lost words

©2023 michael raven

everyone loves their
love songs but i
lost all words
for mine, tumbling
out of a samsonite
with broken locks
held together with
duct tape and wire
letters left trailing
behind my train
going no place
in no time at all
by spring i was hollow
so they bound me in
barbed wire
gave me to pasture
for black feathers
who made my heart their
home

night dancing

©2023 michael raven

tra la-la la-la
her song in the
willows dancing
drawn to earth
moonchild shining
bright with stars
her eyes falling
all around and you
sigh, wishing for
a hand to hold