Twilight sets in at 4:30,
and with it, rain, and satisfaction
at having used the day well,
being outside and moving projects forward
as weather allowed, being ready now
to shift into indoor tasks
and inward work,
rich in the light and heat we gathered
in the brighter moments of the day.
©Wendy Mulhern
November 10, 2021
The tiredness you brought in
was ponderous,
but underneath, like phosphorescence
glinting in the wave of your exhaustion,
was elation – at your progress,
and the high of having somebody to work with –
the fast batting of ideas, the ready
use of tools, the way it feels
to harmonize a wavelength
Because of this, you went back out again –
late into the night,
though you had seemed completely spent,
– proof that energy is generated
from more sources than we knew.
©Wendy Mulhern
October 23, 2021
Someone once told me that harmony
was first about furniture making –
the fitting and shaping of wood,
the fine joinery
making each piece come together
And that it was metaphor making the link
to that which is found in sweet music,
and people’s relations of joy and not friction
that all of us crave in our souls
Which doesn’t explain
why working with wood
through the course of these last few days
has cleared my head fully
of all thoughts of poetry,
left me with nothing to say.
©Wendy Mulhern
October 17, 2021
I have been warned
that demons follow hard on good works,
attempt to zap them,
try to bring the doer down
with self doubt and depression,
clog the steps, with frenzy try
to obfuscate the footprints
So I’m working hard to keep my cheer,
remind myself that these are signs
this is the right direction,
and using what is given me
to take the demons down,
renew my efforts
and keep on working.
©Wendy Mulhern
October 13, 2021
Today I found it better
to be working
than to be wilting,
to defy the beating sun
with steady movement
Today I found
that joy springs up
in the doing of a thing,
in the stance of thought
that harbors no excuses
Afterwards, we had earned the right
to sit and talk and dream
even as darkness settled in –
we had lanterns to see with
for supper and showers,
and well-earned sleep
at the end.
©Wendy Mulhern
August 15, 2021i
The reaping itself
is still hard work,
however victorious it may be,
however much in awe I find myself,
collecting this harvest
from the infinite beneficence
After the reaping,
if I do nothing for a day or two,
I am to be forgiven –
each gratitude-inducing wave
must be received, must be accorded
the full wonder of its splendor
Tomorrow I’ll begin again
to gather up the gifts,
take up the work again
and see how I will grow.
©Wendy Mulhern
July 25, 2021
I tried to write a poem
before my exertion –
put down some rhythmic platitudes –
not untrue, except in how they felt
But now I’m here
under the house
learning the lessons of humility
amid the insulation dust,
wielding my knife and my learning curve –
not much to say about it
Last night we watched virga at sunset,
talked until it turned from dark pink
to dark gray,
watched the almost full moon get brighter,
said good night
far later than we planned to.
©Wendy Mulhern
June 23, 2021
I’ve got my town pants on,
which renders me a little helpless,
in the can’t get dirty kind of way
To tackle tasks around here
it seems essential not to care
about a little soot here, a little mud there
And dust – this time of year, and, too,
this phase of project – one or another
kind of dust will get all over everything
As to the matter of grass seed
and how it sticks in socks – even boots,
it seems, can’t keep it wholly out
But town pants have their own troubles,
being prone to spills of chocolate,
and pizza, it seems. Whatever.
©Wendy Mulhern
June 10, 2021
This is not the end,
nor is it the beginning
It is neither a race
nor a time of foot dragging
It is both urgent
and commanding utmost calm,
the work of now
and of a lifetime
We are not moving in a plane
where we are judged by or compared with others,
this is our own imperative
so we will rise and do it.
©Wendy Mulhern
June 7, 2021
As quick as a wistful desire
flitted across my thought
like a tree limb’s shadow, in the breeze,
came in the solid underpinning
as an invitation,
and, as quick as that,
we fluttered free
A little time to pack,
a little time to tend to newly planted trees,
and we’ll be off, while it’s still cool,
in the morning
Leaving behind the calculations
of all the things we have to do,
sensing the boon of this,
a reset, and a chance
to clarify our view.
©Wendy Mulhern
June 2, 2021