hummingbird
(for Lisa Lenard-Cook)
she of the whirlwinds,
tiny thundercloud and falcon’s eye
rainbow from the painted hills
what songs you conjured forth
in the careful tending of a sea of hearts
voices breaking as they read
one tiny word after another
you darted sharply
maestra, concertina
careful catching, lest they fall, careful
tending of the timid, careful
charting of the heights and valleys
if one of them cried
you held the silence for the whole wide room
what will we do without the bright bohemian of you
the owl’s quiet cluck
a dorothy parker sigh, a shrug
and your silly jingle jangle down the halls
drinking in the room, and
smiles, serene, composed
bright desert bird bedecked
her tiny plumage penned
her sharpened courage
her pointed tongue, poised pen
patient passage
little falcon of the hills
swoops now above the silent sage
whirlwind of the desert sands
rainbow bridge
river’s rush
ruby throat
shimmering wings
~
*authors note ~ for my writing teacher Lisa Lenard-Cook who has recently passed.
VALENTINE BONNAIRE - WRITER 