Godwit Sightings
In north Devon
a pantheon of godwits
a prayer of godwits
an omniscience of godwits
pattered about in the brown mud.
They floated rather,
in that drifty way they have.
Beautiful, light godwits
trotting about on mudflats.
Poem and photo by Rose Cook
A Moment of Happiness by Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi
A moment of happiness,
you and I sitting on the verandah,
apparently two, but one in soul, you and I.
We feel the flowing water of life here,
you and I, with the garden’s beauty
and the birds singing.
The stars will be watching us,
and we will show them
what it is to be a thin crescent moon.
You and I unselfed, will be together,
indifferent to idle speculation, you and I.
The parrots of heaven will be cracking sugar
as we laugh together, you and I.
In one form upon this earth,
and in another form in a timeless sweet land.
photograph Rose Cook
The Swing Tree
News is the old swing tree is down.
Lies full length in the river its toe tips showing.
Only the root bole and a crooked arm waving.
The bank is calm, empty of boys.
Each summer they came trying the rope swing, the jumps,
to scare themselves daring higher each time.
Each jump was named, charged with its own danger.
The first, easy, Fairy then Wendy to Twigamala where the bough bulged out.
Fourth, which meant an extra climb, was Kuntekinte.
Getting higher now, the great Obi One
till highest, where the big boys played, though knees trembled as they jumped,
was Gandhi.
The river boiled with screams and laughter, rippled and splashed
to the green banks, to the hot leaves. No more.
Quiet now, the old swing tree is down.
poem and photograph Rose Cook
Make the Ordinary Come Alive by William Martin
Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is a way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples, and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.
From The Parent’s Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents
photograph Rose Cook
I will be reading as part of this event. Here is one of my poems from the anthology:
Elephant
I am slow.
I am sway.
I am echo.
The great earth holds me.
I am ship. I am flow.
My bones are of whales.
I am large and grateful. I move with no hurry.
There is time. We have time.
Watch my eye. With it I see you and the shine of colour,
which fills me till my grey skin rustles.
I know there is an always happiness here
even in the mud. The frog knows.
Follow me.
We will go in procession.
Follow and feel the rhythm of my walk.
Slow, slow.
My steps sway you,
I will rock you to beyond yourself.
Be yourself
Be more than you have ever been.
Be what you have always been.
Be with me.
Be with me.
Follow. Follow me.
by Rose Cook
