The raw wind is in from the sea,
the warmth of early (and surprising) sun
erased. The firs are in their element —
they dance in the cold moistness.
Cedars, too, take in this breath with relish —
it doesn’t matter
how long it is from now till spring —
long as bending boughs, as winter nights,
as this unnamed span of time and temperature
until our shoots break ground.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 29, 2017
No flight is without grace.
Though raucous caws may mark
disputings, though there may be
ungainly pecking orders, ruffled feathers
Still each one finds the gentle cushion
in the rush of forces they are one with
as they rise and dip with expertise
and no negotiation,
casting themselves effortlessly
into the stream, borne up
just as they expect
The scheme of everything
holds each in place,
no flight, however brief,
is without grace.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 7, 2017
Though it is past solstice,
darkness still comes on sudden –
though the day has been bright
and there’s still pale orange
around the horizon,
the trees have gone all silhouette,
bringing their near blackness
into the equation,
and the half moon, now in mid sky,
is already bright.
Early to bed and late to rise
seems a good motto
in this very cold time of year.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 4, 2017
The little seeds are nestled
in a sphere of fluff
which can be pulled apart.
The fluff, though soft,
begins to burr into my fingers
as I rub the seeds free
The posts say I need to
make winter for the seeds,
need to keep them cold and damp
until they calculate
winter is done — now, if it gets warm
it’s safe to sprout
They describe it in terms of hormones
but I tuck the seeds in, I talk to them.
Who am I to say what kind of wisdom
has not been passed down,
mother to many future children,
grand dappled limbs
coursing the message of life,
roots to crown, earth to atmosphere,
the record of many winters
to inform this one that will now come for the seeds,
packed and labeled in my refrigerator.
©Wendy Mulhern
December 14, 2016
photo by Edward Mulhern
Consider how these maple seeds
have within them everything they need —
cloistered protection
and precise instructions
for when to sprout, how to become trees
Likewise never underestimate
the power of this now —
everything contained within
to realize dreams:
imagination, memory,
just right alignment
with time and timing,
protection and release,
everything to move in poignant harmony,
all you need
to become peace.
©Wendy Mulhern
November 29, 2016
We will gather seeds,
we will gather scions,
we will gather the miracle
of ripples on the river,
the intersection of ducks
with all that physics,
light’s answer to the waves’ summons
We will be fed
by what we love
all through the winter —
the love will always be
what nourishes us,
however it’s presented
And we will feed others,
sometimes before we know it —
we will feed them
with our love.
©Wendy Mulhern
November 10, 2016
You, too, can find a high perch
to catch the sun’s rays
before they touch the water,
before they dance in myriad refractions,
before they break up the majestic blue
You can bask in the splendor of your feathers,
their hue, their shine, their iridescence,
you can claim this moment
before anything is proclaimed,
you can have this bright hush
to take in as you will,
as long as you are still.
©Wendy Mulhern
November 8, 2016
We worked together.
It didn’t matter
that the rain roared through
from time to time —
We were given enough pauses
to move forward. We were given
maybe two sun breaks
and maybe two sun showers
We were given equanimity
and an easy rhythm
and some signs of progress
and now after dark,
rain settled in for the night, it seems,
we are given gratitude
for its forbearance
throughout the day.
©Wendy Mulhern
October 17, 2016
They’re forecasting rain,
lots of it. Today rested lightly
on the prospect,
its blue sky innocent, its sun soft,
no hint of change till late afternoon
which still was light and balmy
But there are plenty of hours
before tomorrow, and the rain
may slam in around midnight.
It may be dark and wet
for a long time,our planned-on work
thus rendered impossible
In which case we will turn inward,
literally and metaphorically.
We’ll still find something to do.
©Wendy Mulhern
October 12, 2016
The closing inward
happens in front of everyone,
shows itself as brown, or red, or gold —
this surrender reveals the inner essence
with the unconscious grace
of truth
So it is
when harsher days
force us to abandon all pretext,
the unpretentious brightness
that we have no strength or attention
to hold back
simply shines
without our even knowing
We color,
we fall,
we turn —
so we are seen,
so we are known.
©Wendy Mulhern
October 5, 2016