Remembering Martin

    By Martin Lounsberry  D. 1993

***

One of a Band of Brothers

***

IN UMBRIA 1/4/92

Assisi wind

Balm for my mourning

Assisi stones

Sing songs to my soul.

Blessings abound

Miracles for the picking,

And the heart is well attended

   At the sight of the thornless Rose.

***

POETIC DON'TS

One should never write a poem

Just after reading a poem.

Inspiration is troppo caro I'm afraid,

More than the negotiating of absorbing eyes,

Tracing the chosen words from line to line.

So I give it all serious thought,

Then slide down alone into my chilly bed,

To contemplate the darkness.

***

MOTHER'S DAY  5/88

You are not dead yet.

Though you died so long ago.

You're not that fully blind.

But you still refuse to see.

I cannot mourn for you

Though grieving grips my soul

For one who failed life

By living for one's self alone.

You are not dead yet.

Though the stone has been carved

With loving words that bring

Dry tears while maggots wait.

I am not dead yet.

But I stand with stricken angels

In the wings of time

While lost hope haunts my days.