I am: a poem

 I am

            drinking in tendrils

            of serenity

            that squeeze between

            the stones of stridence

            in my mind.

 

I am

            slurping swirls

            of sunshine

            that sing beyond

            the stars of darkness

            in my eyes.

 

I am

            tasting dewdrops

            of tenderness

            that slide from under

            the tension

            in my toes.

 

I am

            sipping drizzles

            of a dawning day

            that emerge from

            yesterday’s ashes

            on my lips.

 

I am

            swallowing spirals

            of inspiration

            that rise behind

            the dried grasses of dullness

            between my fingers.

 

I am

            guzzling whorls

            of energizing life

            that seep above

            the dying shards of emptiness

            in my heart.

 

 

I am

            persisting

            aiming to thrive

            despite the friction

            of desolation

            and madness

            that threatens

            to overtake

            and absorb

            my every being.

 

March 11, 2022

Tansy Julie Soaring Eagle Paschold

Not an Empty Garden: a poem

 

Not an Empty Garden

 

You on the outside looking in

may see an empty garden here

with cracked sidewalks

and barren spaces

but look closer behind my door

and find I have saved the best

of my fruits

from prying insects and encroaching weeds

my gate open only

to those who bring sunshine

and fresh rain to my garden.

You will see what happened here

while farming in my younger years

the crooked rows and eaten crops

the stolen grain and diseased leaves

no longer exist

and roots grow deep

into rich, dark soil for the few that care.

So come to my gate

call out my name

and in the sun or rain

I will come out to play

to dance in my garden with you

because

despite it all

I’m still standing.

 

September 24, 2020

Tansy Julie Soaring Eagle Paschold

 

Inspired by Elton John’s “Empty Garden”

Norfolk Public Library Writing Prompt to use favorite song lyrics in a poem

Tansy Season: a poem

Tansy * noun * [Origin: Middle English-tanesey, Old French-tanesie, Medieval Latin-athanasia, Greek-athanatos—immortal, equivalent to a + thanatos—death] * a common weedy composite herb (Tanaceum vulgare) with an aromatic odor, very bitter taste, and finely divided leaves; broadly: a plant of the same genus

sometimes I’ll be

standing in a field

and it looks like I’m

doing nothing

I’ll tell you

--shhhh—

I’m listening

with my eyes

today I see

a small plant

with lacy leaves

and delicate yellow flowers

in April

it seems too early

to see blooms

but for these tough winter annuals

this tansy mustard

it’s just another day in the sun

and looking small and delicate

is a ruse

for how resilient

Mother Nature

has created her children

that proliferate

this early

a child of the aster family

cousin of the daisy

Tansy’s root word is a relative of death

meaning immortality and health

like the bitter yellow tansy

I may be sensitive and small

but am weather worn and

stand through storms

ready for what is blown my way

do not see only with your eyes

but listen closely too

very still

and hear as I do

the small fire within

I am ready for the next season

my tansy season

I am tough

but lacy

delicate

but strong

growing

flowering

ready

every edge cut just so

for you old man weather

this little tansy Julie

grows on

blooms on

lives on

tansy—immortal—me. 

April 30, 2020

Tansy Julie Soaring Eagle Paschold