Chorista Laura Cotterman has recently written a beautiful poem
and also published an article in the online magazine Scoundrel Time.
Both the poem and article chronicle, in Laura's throughtful and nature-connected way, her reflections on the spring we've just gone through. The poem is below Laura's photo. The article is at this link:
When Home Is More Than A House: Learning From Trees And Time.
and also published an article in the online magazine Scoundrel Time.
Both the poem and article chronicle, in Laura's throughtful and nature-connected way, her reflections on the spring we've just gone through. The poem is below Laura's photo. The article is at this link:
When Home Is More Than A House: Learning From Trees And Time.
March 2020 by Laura M Cotterman
First redbud, the pinkest ever
filled a western window
then dogwood clouds in a green mist
On daily walks I thought to myself
I am ready
I can do this
Alone together our cheeks
registered spring’s tenderness--
breaths of air we could not keep
Daily walks left me free
to ruminate on privilege
relish feet on ground, and so
I snapped photos to preserve this spring
whose gorgeous face defied reality--
that thousands can’t breathe
Unfurling fern, Azalea, Bluet and trees
naked ‘til one morning
lambent baby leaves appeared
Birds jabbered, delirious over nests
and always, always
citrine pollen clung to us
We wondered what comes next
after heaven-scented Lily-of-the-valley
and Mayapple rising
I thought I was ready
then found what I’m not ready for
the without-you part
I looked forward but forward meant
you might not be there
here when it’s over if it’s ever over
If I manage to go forward
you might not get there with me
or you— any of you— might go there without me
Still I walk with ache in the bone
for loved ones seen through scrim of screen
heard via wireless waves
Faces and voices I remember
to memorize as pixels pass
through tech’s interface
First redbud, the pinkest ever
filled a western window
then dogwood clouds in a green mist
On daily walks I thought to myself
I am ready
I can do this
Alone together our cheeks
registered spring’s tenderness--
breaths of air we could not keep
Daily walks left me free
to ruminate on privilege
relish feet on ground, and so
I snapped photos to preserve this spring
whose gorgeous face defied reality--
that thousands can’t breathe
Unfurling fern, Azalea, Bluet and trees
naked ‘til one morning
lambent baby leaves appeared
Birds jabbered, delirious over nests
and always, always
citrine pollen clung to us
We wondered what comes next
after heaven-scented Lily-of-the-valley
and Mayapple rising
I thought I was ready
then found what I’m not ready for
the without-you part
I looked forward but forward meant
you might not be there
here when it’s over if it’s ever over
If I manage to go forward
you might not get there with me
or you— any of you— might go there without me
Still I walk with ache in the bone
for loved ones seen through scrim of screen
heard via wireless waves
Faces and voices I remember
to memorize as pixels pass
through tech’s interface
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