Here’s the latest installment of Poet’s Corner, presented by the Edmonds-based EPIC Poetry Group.

January

 

cold, wet

gray days

short days

long nights

 

snow and ice

frozen ground

crisp, cold air

mountain winds

 

birds huddling

at a feeder

seeking warmth

in the trees

 

promises

new growth

small green shoots

tiny signs of spring

 

gift of new year

new chances

new starts

forgiveness

 

Marcia McLaughlin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Invisible Force

 

“Nature’s music is never over; her silences are pauses, not conclusions.”

— Mary Webb, English poet and novelist.

 

Fog settles over earth

as dawn awakens

Trees stand as quiet sentinels

Flags hang motionless.

 

Leaves begin to stir

Fog lifts

Tall grasses sway and bend

Ripples appear on lake

Birds glide easily across the sky.

 

Dark ominous clouds appear

Trees begin to sway and creak

Leaves tumble downward

Cold whistles by my ears

Ripples change to waves

whitecaps crash onto shore

Rain pelts sides of buildings,

coming in askew

Sand dances across the beach

Birds fly sideways.

 

Wind.  Ruach.  Spirit

An invisible force made visible

by what it touches.

A mysterious, sometimes benign,

often boisterous,

sometimes destructive force

Swirls, dances, ripples, races, crashes.

 

Clouds disappear, sun returns

Earth shines, cleansed by rain

Gradually lake water calms

Trees stand as quiet sentinels again.

 

Marcia McLaughlin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hope must live in us

 

Fog hovers low over water

Mountains blocked from view

Snow blankets the earth

and yet –

 

Crocuses unfold amidst the snow

Courageous souls arising

A symbol of hope

A resurrection promise.

 

A fog of war and famine

blankets our world.

Violence and poverty forces

people from their homes.

And yet –

 

People arise in the fog

insisting on peace and justice

for all

A symbol of hope

Our world can heal.

Marcia McLaughlin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marcia McLaughlin is a retired spiritual director who enjoys photography and writing poetry – and seeing where the combination takes her.  She considers herself an ekphrastic poet, meaning poetry based on visual arts.  She is particularly interested in the natural world, how we interact with it, and the messages It has for us.  She also enjoys music and sings with the Threshold Singers, a group of women who sing for hospice patients. She lives in Lake Forest Park with her spouse, Beth (who is an urban sketcher) and their 2 cats.  She is a member of the EPIC poetry group.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The EPIC Poetry Group has been in existence for four years. It is open to the members of the public (free of charge) who are interested expressing and improving their poetry writing skills. The group meets the second Tuesday of the month at the Edmonds Library from 6-7:45 p.m.