Poem for Phil

Recently I composed a poem for my cousin Phil Bly who turned 70, and thought I’d share it with you. If you know him I think the imagery will make more sense:

FOR PHIL AT 70

From the mountain high and steep a stream bursts out
White spray lifts above the rocks – below a village of
Fishermen plow the sea and gardeners turn the earth

Apple orchards – cherry blossoms perfume the chambers of memory
A hint of sea air emerges from the cut black earth of the prairie
Corn stover and twisted grass fuel the fire to keep us warm

From the old gray haired trees come the ancestors leaning
On each other – wrinkled bark deep groans of branches
That shade and hold us in summer’s heat – it is their

Faith forged in hard times that sustains and holds us
Even though its firmness is gone fallen away in comfort
The roots run deep to find moisture beneath the dry plain

Tapping the stream that flows at the center of the earth
And through some magic lets us come through at the other side
China Kenya Carver Eden Santa Cruz and the great fall

One must know the measure of stones the weight of wood
The craft of expressing a metered heart and mind of a continent
Uncover the habitat of hallowed gods in the lobes of the brain

It’s the energy of life the engine of eternal knowing
Will sustain us through dark times and light – will bring us
Through that spirit to the place in the clearing

A garden green and shaded – abundant with spring peas
Tomatoes onion chard cauliflower broccoli and sunflower
The cackle of geese and the scratch and cluck of chickens

Where the ancestors gather again and we know
Grasses bow down to the circle as we dance and sing
Join hand in hand turning all round right