After the Readings at the Upper Crust
One of My Poems I Read
Winter in the Garden
in this season when your heart bleeds its prayer
and your soul is silent in its god-sense
when you sit in the heaving hollow of this day’s hunger
and stillness and peace is the cushion you ache for
remember that i am waiting on the far side of the garden
i am a spinning center of whispering words
and though i dance a snowy circle inside the gate
do not think i forget you
for while i scatter the freshness of my spirit
to the throbbing winds and my footsteps dance a pattern
in the glistening white
remember it is you i dance for
it is for you i wear this reverance
and when i turn you in the easy caricature of my heart
know that i am lifting you to the heavens
with every note of my singing
the way the dying blades of grass beneath the white lift their heads
i am a seeker of every hidden miracle within the corners of this garden
and i paste them behind my eyes
to bring to you later, as gifts
i am witness to the glory of this season
and when you come to me once again
we will commune in the simple flow of scripture
that will move between my breath
and yours
and all the dissonance of your frayed spirit
will dispel into this garden air
- barbara mitchell -