Five Poems by Kathleen Chamberlin

 

Aurem Cordis

The ear of the heart

Hears a melody 

Unique 

Tuned to 

One voice 

Unknown and unknowable 

Until the sweet entrancing tones

Float across the vastness

Of Time and Space. 

A siren song

Whose intricate melody 

Insinuates itself in the

Sheltered chambers of the heart 

Finds the sacred place 

And settles there.

 

IF WISHES WERE HORSES

Grant me one wish to last a lifetime: 

Open the doors of evermore 

Unlock the chains of blighted dreams

Grant me the wish of one kiss more

Reach out with a rescuing oar

Or clasp my hand to draw me closer 

Salvage my soul, drifting so aimlessly 

In quiet waters, tugged along Time's currents  

Bobbing through the swirling rapids 

Struggling I reach for you with outstretched hand

Fearing the looming drop off ahead. 

Grant me one wish, forever to cherish: 

One glorious day to savour with wine 

A night lit by soft wonder near a surf-scented shore

Lie here beside me now in this hour,

Let me love you 

In silence, secret and unknown 

Until time ceases to care or remember.

 

 

INVISIBILITY

 

I wear the cloak of invisibility 

Not by choice

I hardly noticed it being sewn

Too busy grappling with those precious moments that then were now

But now are then.

Ì felt it slowly taking shape 

Like a low-lying fog in the twilight hours

Obscuring my feelings 

Hiding my path.

Before I knew it, 

I became the fading image of a long ago photograph

Melting from the stark black and white to grey

 

LOSING YOU

 

I see the world behind a Veil of Tears, distorted and blurred

I am sodden with the fierce waves of grief that flood my mind

Wild winds howling in my ears, lashing my face with memories

That sting like ice gale of a winter storm,

Memories I cannot bear to look at, but I cannot avoid. 

I hear your voice, still forceful and strong 

Though forever stilled, teasing me, your laughter buoyant and impish.

No longer will you answer my calls, sharing the news of the day 

The many fragments of our lives, yours now forever incomplete, 

Mine broken, robbed of your smile. 

I wring my hands and wipe my eyes,

Fighting my way through the torrent of grief 

Seeking respite from the deluge of this: life’s most cruel crescendo.

 

 

SPRING PLANTING 

I planted the tulips today 

Anticipating their colourful display come spring 

As they join those planted last year and the year before. 

I bury them deep, to safely sleep beneath the blanket of frozen earth

And pristine snow that will cover the horizon in the coming months as the days grow shorter. 

Are tulips, like a hibernating bear, conscious of the rhythms of time and the seasons 

Or do they dream the dreams of quiet days and quiet nights

Until they waken to warm moist earth and spring sunlight 

Struggling upward, gaining strength to burst skyward in a palate of vivid colours. 

 

Kathleen Chamberlin is a retired educator living in Albany, New York. She began writing creatively during the quarantine period of Covid-19. Her writing has appeared in both print and online journals and anthologies. In addition to writing, she enjoys gardening, genealogy, and grandchildren.