Growing up in the
old country it was just this usual thing
To walk by and find
red poppies anywhere and everywhere
To eat poppy
deserts and or to see a child play with the dried up flower
Which turned into a
really popular toy, a divine noisemaker of sorts
There isn’t
anything like it, but to see a sea of red torches ahead
To watch the sun
glaze over them, having their own light and fire to add
If you are passing
it by on foot you will find a way to spend an hour, or two
Walking through it,
touching the heads, wondering if the tenderness
Of your finders can
convey your love for these flowers, and your understanding
Of their nature,
their ultimate want, to grow and be touched,
As we all do, in
one way or another yearn to be and want to be known
For decades I have
searched this new land I reside in
As a child I was
brought to and learned to love in ways I didn’t know
Still this
particular piece was missing, something like a phantom leg
Removed yet, I
still felt it present, thought of it endlessly and wished
To place sights on
it again, even if just for a moment
Out of a moving
train, bus or car – lean in, and out
Often I declared
that the man who shall bring me to field of red poppies
I will not hesitate
and pair my life with his, for as long as possible
In no haste, in
such a way, as the red painted on the earth and sky
I would explicitly
crave this man’s presence, without any harness
Should there ever
be one, which allowed me to seek out the field
This isn’t a
warning of any kind; it is a sublime vision for you and I
If it ever was one
that unveiled the silk from your eyes
The feather that
tickles you while you sleep, and the breeze that comes
Through the window
as you seek the morning light
Listening to the
bird’s orchestra, and know that the fields of red poppies
Is what started it
all, and may always be, the moment of truth
A beautiful
personal ceremony
No one knows it but
the two birds on wire that sit
Each morning,
hoping to gaze over the sea of red
Close together,
quiet and present with hearts open and free.
For Willing Wilder 5.31.2016
