You come in like that.
A flash of light
In a sky of grey.
A drop of dew
Rolling off a melting mountain.
You are
Narcissus and chamomile
Blanketing the waking hillside.
The fire
That can’t be extinguished.
The song
That can’t be silenced.
Come closer
Unfurl freely inside a vessel
That’s ready to wake
The sleeping canyon.
Feed me
Pollen and air and honey
Sticky sweetness
That only spring
Can bring.
{JV 3/6/13}
serenaded
by six am love birds
dressed
in cotton and cashmere
bathed
in rose oil and sea salts
bejeweled
in jasmine and garlands of soft
pink peach petals
that foretell a fortune
of riches to come.
{poem/photo: JV 3/3/13}
Tread lightly
On me.
Say less, do less.
Be generous in your offerings -
Hand me more questions
Than answers.
Do not show me the way.
Be modest.
Cover yourself -
Your body, your head,
Perhaps even your toes.
Let me see
Next to nothing of you.
But a glimpse
Of your glowing heart
Which slips through
A tear in your breast pocket…
Which I recognize
As the doorway
To a thousand
Yet unnamed adventures.
{poem/photo: JV}
What more could I need
Than a spring in my step
A beat on my drum
A skip in my heart?
All from you.
The one who
Time and time again
Flips my switch
Fills my cup
And feeds my soul.
And you do this in the dark
Uphill
In the rain.
Like it’s nothing at all.
If only you knew
How your love
Makes me bloom
Like
Springtime in December.
Beauty graces
The places
Even you cannot touch.
A light rain
An early winter’s walk
Mist on my mouth -
Tiny kisses
Planted
In this evergreen heart.
Spring sings
From just over the white horizon
And calls
Like church bells
Or a choir
Or wind that whistles
Through naked trees
That do not blush,
As they dance
Like giddy children
Full of wonder
And wishes
Bearing fruit.
{poem/photo: Jill Volat 12/4/12}
One stitch
A blanket to cover you.
One seed
A field to feed you.
One word
A page to profess this love for you.
One life
Enough time
To bring what really matters
To fruition.
poem/photo: Jill Volat 11/21/12
The light changes
I hold my breath.
A break
Between what was
And what’s to come.
Two sides of the same canyon
Spread
Like wings
Of one bird
Headed in two directions.
One side reaches for light
The other for darkness.
Sun lowers to earth
Phoenix rises
Within.
poem/photo: Jill Volat 11/20/12
Changing clothes
To cover a changing body
To cover an immortal soul
That would rather
Stand naked.
Dirty, clean, hang, dry, fold, repeat:
Lessons laid out
Like laundry on the line.
Not always in order, but
One at a time
If you’re lucky.
A warm breeze
From some other place
Lets us know
When to stand still
And when to get moving.
Like a soft, worn piece of linen
We soil ourselves
Not just to be washed,
But to dance
With wind.
poem: Jill Volat 11/20/12
photo: Tricia McKellar
Words land
On the page
Like wildflower seeds
Sown in a garden of possibility.
A blank sheet
And an unfarmed field
Look no different.
But we keep at it.
Farmers and writers
Learn to sit back and
Let the harvest
Come when it comes
Like a closed heart
That bursts
And feasts on itself.
Famine easily forgotten
And forgiven
For this taste
Of paradise.
{poem/photo: Jill Volat}
I wrote this poem for all of my amazing friends who are my chosen sisters…
Teach me
What it means
To be a sister,
No longer orphaned
In a desolate land.
Teach me
What it means
To open this heart
And embrace you
In ways unimaginable.
Paint me a picture
Of light-filled days and
Starry nights
Warm cups of honey and tea in between.
Receive my gifts
When I have them
Share with me
When I’m feeling small.
Let the petals open,
No peeling –
Witness and rejoice
Each other’s blossoming flight.
Let me be who I am
And you as you are
Garden large enough
For both of us.
Allow me to sit
In darkness.
Light a candle
On your own altar…
Remind me that
Vulnerability and weakness
Are also a strength.
Teach me
What it means to be a sister
Born from the same heart
Moving towards
The same light.
{poem/photo: Jill Volat}
