Mystic

wind,
whispering trees

clouds, stars
radiant,
unseen

and again, ever-
moving into darkness
pale riders on
night's mystic train

night, to day,
to winter, to spring
summer's
heat arises,
unforeseen,

as tender leaves breathe
as taps the rain,

[...] Read more

poem by Steven Federle
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

After the Storm

Light surging down
glistening lanes

gleaming torrents
consuming the rain

the blazing sun
floods the damp valley floor

from somber penumbra
the bright star breaks forth

radiance shatters
the storm’s dark pall

The sun drowns dull night
In its flashing flood-tide.

poem by Steven Federle
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Knowing

Knowing
would be like
dying
over and
over.

Seeing how it all will happen
before it happens
would be the final blight,
a leaden pall falling
on your joyful life.

So much better to live
in ignorance,
in hope that tomorrow
will be better
or at least the same
as today.

poem by Steven Federle
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Out of the Silence

"Out of the silence, Light is spoken." Thomas Merton

I walk
into the morning.

Birds
drowse
in the dark,

an unseen breeze
strokes my
arms, my bare neck,

as two cranes
over the edge
of the meadow
rise

as the Holy Spirit
moans

[...] Read more

poem by Steven Federle
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Blue Days

Blue Days

Blue days race
to starry nights.

Candles plunge
to panting dreams.

Power is brief.

The mounting sun
with youthful strength
lusts for noon’s brightest heights,

but ennui runs deep and gently receives
the sun’s fading fire,
night’s growing pyre.

poem by Steven Federle
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Tornado

In the clash of day with night
rising heat, swirling vapors, vortex
of hail and nascent funnels
stoke Jehovah’s fire
in the Southern sky

until flashing night slays dark day
like judgment come round at last,
and heavy clouds reach down
to wipe clean
the sacred slate.

poem by Steven Federle
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Prayer for All Souls

Fill me with your
sacred fire.

I long to rise from
this moldering pyre,
but I'm trapped
under a dying sun.

Your love
is just beyond my reach,
and sight fails

as I falter,
and back
to basic earth
fall.

O, lift me
with your mighty hand
and once again

[...] Read more

poem by Steven Federle
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

To Live For Oneself Alone

'To live for oneself alone is to die.'
Thomas Merton, Seasons of Celebration

Stars line up
and testify
against me;

a raspy chorus of
marsh-voices
rises to decry my
bitter tears as
human lies.

I despair
in the empty
wind, as trees
whisper rumors
of my lonely end.

poem by Steven Federle
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Eventide

Glowing low through eastern pines
suspended, self-contained,
this perfect world gently refines
the rough, red clouds
of eventide.

Beneath the moon
in throbbing streams, tremor
in the vibrant night,
green cloisters chant their lusty song
glorious noise, rising antiphon.

poem by Steven Federle
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Waking to Darkness

Reaching to turn off the alarm,
I look out dark windows
and see the dreaming moon,
high in the tree,
filling the sky with
unfinished sleep.

Better to wake
to the morning's light,
to roll to my side, glance
out the highest pane
and see the sun
fill the world again.

poem by Steven Federle
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!