Ladies of the Lake

Isle La Motte, Vermont

July 29, 2012; modified February 3, 2015

At Maya House

on Isle La Motte

two brides embrace

as loved ones watch

well-chosen words when

spoken under open sky

rise up in light

to join the song

of hermit thrush

in blissful flush

of summertime.

Soon siblings, strangers

sit as one, share

pasta, toasts and provolone

as Texas, Georgia, Quebecois

mingle with Missouri

tribes, their vegan plates

set side by side

with sausage balls

and biting flies, a wedding

feast for all alike.

Later in the failing light

beyond a summer sunset

far away from most places

rising over cold waters

a stone’s throw

from rocky shores –

The ladies of the lake are one.

The Hawk is Hunting

Athens, Georgia

July 23, 2012

A shadow glides the gentle land 

beyond the blacktop, bordered 

by ditches and daisies 

down packed dirt driveways 

past tin-roof farm homes,

two room churches, fenced-in 

cows and free-range mice –

now soaring over grace and lies

the hawk is hunting summer skies.

A raptor circles arid plains

its pilot half a world away

a mug of Starbucks in one hand

while focused on his wary prey

a fighter striding toward his fate

as protocols somewhere are met

a mouse is clicked, new smoke plumes rise

in distant fields a young man dies –

the hawk is hunting summer skies.

Ghostly circuits take to clouds

to conjure up a techno-shroud

that reinforces human pride

as algorithms churn inside

spinning truths submerged in lies

and soaring dreams descend to doubts 

just who the raptor, who the mouse

when cell phones stalk unwary lives –

the hawk is hunting summer skies.

At twilight hawks return to nest

but techno-servants never rest

they serve their masters faithfully

from Faust to Frankenstein they grow

ignore for now the final toll

relax, embrace your YouTube soul

let comfort salve the silent fright

as spirit reapers take to flight

and hunt the haunted summer night.

"Bird and building" by David Noah, Winterville, GA