SHARK REEF
A Publication of the Lopez Writers Guild
Vol. 3, No. 1
February 2003

 

 

Poetry

by Brooks

 

Big Sur Monastery

quiet sky
my heart
same color

gently throbbing sea
bright crescent moonsong
god breathing everywhere

 

Copyright ©2003 by Brooks




Island Home

The dark
harbors quiet trust

Wind croons through high trees
and joins the tides
to shove debris and treasure
beyond the water line

Following the edges
of each wave my thoughts
lose content

Loon feathers,
deep black with white spots,
are caught
between round wet rocks

Raven's feet cut
crisp frost into words
of a language
I am only just learning

Fog unites
with moist earth
in wait
for fading dark
to expose morning

Tides, light and raven
teach the rhythm
of this island.

 

Copyright ©2003 by Brooks


When Declaring War

remember

only judge
victory
after war's steel wave
breaks angry across
wasted lives

leaving frozen tundra
deep in every gut

 

Copyright ©2003 by Brooks


Patience

to move forward
having lost you,
I will watch
how a flock of birds
re-forms
when its heart has been felled
and how the heron
standing with grace and strength
perfectly balanced on one leg
waits with patience
for the right fish to fill its hunger

 

Copyright ©2003 by Brooks


Well Hinged

Bivalve shell -
two perfect halves
tightly meeting
edge to edge
holding in and keeping out
in exact life sustaining
balance
with one very, very small hinge
and a billion years of evolution

 

Copyright ©2003 by Brooks



Brooks arrived on the last ferry to Lopez Island September 11, 2001. That was her last cross-country move in this life. She writes, makes art, does ocean stuff, teaches classes and workshops, and flies among the islands doing emergency mental health evaluations. She walks on beaches and among tall trees, collects bones and rocks, and laughs a lot.

 

 

 
  

 

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