Terri Watrous Berry

Considering the source

The heart that holds the heart of me

ignores this countenance of day,

releasing spirit, giving sway to

light that’s bright eternally, that

glows in those with eyes who see

that love’s bequeathed by heaven’s

grace when another’s heart is

placed in trust and is believed.

For hands can reach as far as hands

that wait for hands to hold, and

hearts like flowering meadows stand

when showered in love light’s gold,

sensing the Master’s master plan

I cherish His child’s cherished soul.

A SEcond Wind

A wayfarer’s prayer tossed on turbulent waters,

no different than mine as I navigate these shoals,

rocks looming closer, gale gusts prevail as

my periled jammer fights indigo waves and

I miss having compass or sextant or mate

to confirm or contest my itinerary.

Blast the storms that brought me off course!

It was a linear journey I’d planned and

nothing prepared my vessel or me for

this violent weather at hand, though

I did bring all the things I was told

none of them have proven useful.

So over they go, let them sink in the brine, for

mine is the sea that’s grown stranger to me!

I’ve nearly capsized from the weight of old

freight, won’t carry that cargo no more.

If I’m to weather this cascading rush,

it seems to be if my own silent guide

succeeds in deciphering stars in the dark to

point out a haven, a harbor, the safety of shore.

If not, will this castaway’s carcass be sought as it

lies on the sand? Are shipwrecks still noticed,

will someone be sent, do merciful hands

still reach down in time to

scoop up the spiraling sparrow?

Will it then begin, a second wind?

Prayer

One mourning dove calls out

to another, perhaps that is

the best we too can hope for.

A confirming call, a coo

in the darkness, in lieu

of hard-pressed answers.

You owe me no answers,

the questions are enough,

just knowing You are there to

listen to the questions and

the kudos, for in my heart

I am always on my knees.

Terri Watrous Berry is a Michigan septuagenarian whose work has appeared over four decades in anthologies, journals, magazines, and newspapers. This past year her poetry was included by Last Stanza Poetry Journal, Red Rose Thorns, Libretto, Culture Cult, and Pure Slush, among others.