More Ghost Ranch Poems

Kate on her Toes

At 40, the artist
steps out
from continuous tones,
humming,
from studio frame’s
two dimension imaging,
and goes up on her toes.
Eyes shoot sparks,
as her hair,
unbound, catches light,
and fiery filaments
arc through darkest space,
find our hearts, unerring,
grow tendrils there that tug,
wake that inner spirit
wrapped in her own dark thoughts,
unspoken dreams.
Through 40 days and 40 nights
we journey,
cross a desert of loneliness,
dry, dusty,
chilled by sudden hail,
as she draws a path, chiaroscuro,
weaving hair into strongest rope
so we do not fall.
We hold her
till we learn to trust
our camera eyes,
glimpse trees rooted in dry streams,
then watch those gray ghosts
green with new buds,
promising spring
and summer fruits,
shelter for soaring birds.
Then Kate can smile,
plait her hair smooth once again,
wind it round to nest her face,
frame herself,
close her eyes to see her own secrets,
wrapped warmly in enchanting dreams,
heels tucked in,
feather ready.

The Photographic Nude

The hardest part of going naked
is putting on your clothes.
It’s easier to take them off,
surprised at what you see.
Layer by layer,
you peel yourself,
exposing
from first one angle,
then another,
seeing how light
shadows curves,
silvers edges,
deepens lines of emphasis,
shows what makes you rounded
or flat,
what highlights your darkness
or shimmers in your hair,
touching where you are strong
and where your wounds,
still healing,
scissor scars across your web of memories.

And those unexpected shapes and colors!
where highlights dance
and sparkle in your hands
as you reach to touch yourself in wonder,
and you see your image,
if only for a moment,
completely whole.

Then feeling a chill in the air
that hints of winter,
and what’s outside the window,
you clothe yourself again,
layer by layer,
knowing you must protect against the wind,
shelter spirit,
keep heart warm,
but feel the bra chafe already
and the pants close too tightly
and you’re afraid
the shirt may be too warm by noon,
and somehow your clothes feel damp
and your image blurs in the mirror,
as you look one long last time
around the room,
then close the door softly,
carefully, behind you,
to remember the click
as the lock turns
once more.

Sex Appeal

Men are around
but women are there,
seeing you with open eyes,
reaching out with laughter
to touch the place
that hurts too much,
tenderly,
gently,
and smile,
offer something good to eat,
share a funny story,
remind you to look
for the dew on the flower
or the sunrise
just beyond the trees

Unspoken wishes,
Silent dreams

How easy to wish for new red boots,
a black pony with a white star,
(or even for the moon
which you know you can’t have anyway).
How hard to voice those wishes
that shape themselves wordless,
desires pulling from the heart
towards the sky,
yearning to unfurl in sunlight
yet locked in darkness.

Hope can make a single point of light
to cast an image,
focusing that silent dream.
You pay a price, though,
in forming words
more safely left unspoken,
so they tremble on your lips,
with tears that fall in silence.

How can you ask for freedom,
or to walk hand in hand
with one you love,
or the simple joy
of looking outward
without fear of shadow
following?

Unspoken dreams
can harden tears to salt,
make you motionless,
like Lot’s wife,
who took that one impulsive glance
at what lay behind her,
concealed.
Looking may free you, perhaps,
just enough to speak
a single word,
enough to feel your flesh
become that word,
miraculously whole.
The first word
is simply first,
after all.

No … Yes

And what did the Yes
say to the No?
“I’m tired of your endless circling
around that O,
that hole,
bottomless,
cave tunneling into infinite
darkness.”
Nothing there,
really,
just stale breath,
an empty corridor.
Listen to me!
When you way‘Yes!’
excitement animates
this single syllable surging
with desire
to show yourself so beautiful
as you simply are.
Sound your own notes,
sing a song of all you long to discover!
When you say ‘Yes!’
you open to the world
with sibilant anticipation,
sanguine about yesterday’s sorrows,
shining with stars of tomorrow,
sensation in every pore
as your skin opens
to embrace the sun.
You can just say ‘no’
to no—
Power yourself with
love, all the love you deserve
by being the miracle of you,
worthy
to say ‘Yes!’
in all colors!