OBSERVANCE OF JOY

Observance of Joy

I stood in the quiet of the oncoming evening

And watched her in the garden, humming

Her hands dirty with the rich, black soil

Her blue dress, stained and ripped at the hem

And I loved her so I thought my heart would burst

Flowers surrounded her, the result of many hours

Vegetables, ripe and ready to be eaten, waited

Birds were shooed away and bugs, exterminated

All the while humming that lovely, unidentifiable tune

And I loved her so I thought my heart would sing

I had walked past her on my journey home

The workaday woes heavy on my mind

The incoming, outgoing, out of proportion paperwork

Still to be dealt with, still to be paid, lying on the desk

And I had passed her without glance or second thought

As I neared the door to hearth and home, I turned

Abruptly as if an unseen hand had turned me thus

And I watched her obliviously working on my dinner

Over my shoulder, quietly, in stunned awareness

And I loved her so much I thought my heart would break.

©By Voo
July 8, 07

for Sterling

WONDERING AT THE WINDOW..................collab w/Ray Gallon

Wondering  at the Window

Where is he, I wonder

And feel such an emptiness

I can barely bear it.

Was it only yesterday

That he left the rose

Upon my doorstep and fled?

Was it only the day before

That I slammed the door

There in his startled face?

What a fool I was

What a complete and utter fool

For I cannot remember the reason.

He told me he'd never let me go

He told me he'd drown in the rain

And burn in the sun.

He told me he'd stand outside the window

Until the stars fell down

And all the flowers cried.

But I just laughed

And pulled the blinds

And shut out his tearful eyes.

Now it is morning

And the sky is soft and serene

But there's a storm inside of me.

Where is he, I wonder

With my hand upon the sill

Where is my love and does he love me still?

©by Voo

Feb 28, 2017

3:06 a.m.

(painting by Ray Gallon

poem by Voo)

LOOK AT YOU poem I wrote for Leonard Cohen yrs ago

Look At You

You said you'd never smile again

After surviving the wars of love

Coming out on the other side wounded

And haunted by the ghosts of pain.

Don't look at me, you said, I'm half a man

I'm crippled and scarred

And you are still beautiful

No one can mend me now.

But I didn't listen or take heed to your

Warnings

I loved you till you hated me and loved

Me once again.

Now, look at you, you're laughing

Your scars unseen

Your heart healed

In the patience of my tender hands.

Look at you, my love

My tenacity has worked a miracle

My stubborn hope

Has given you back your smile.

©by Voo

Jan 7, 05

7:30 p.m.

For my beloved Leonard