“the joy of our spirit is uncaged”
~ Walt Whitman
“Tu Voz”
Singing unto the sun and sky with your song,
your voice threshes the grain of the day,
the pines speak with their green tongues,
as the birds of winter trill.
The sea fills its cellars with footsteps,
with bells, chains, and groans —
metal and tools jangle,
wheels of the caravan creak.
But I hear only your voice —
Your voice rising with the flight and
precision of an arrow,
your voice falling with the gravity of rain,
your voice scattering the highest swords,
and returning, laden with violets —
accompanying me through the heavens.
Shawn Kichner
“I am not Yours”
I am not yours, not lost in you,
Not lost, although I long to be
Lost as a candle lit at noon,
Lost as a snowflake in the sea.
You love me, and I find you still
A spirit beautiful and bright,
Yet I am I, who long to be
Lost as a light is lost in light.
Oh plunge me deep in love – put out
My senses, leave me deaf and blind,
Swept by the tempest of your love,
A taper in a rushing wind.
Sarah Teasdale