Answering David's 39th

I do not answer the evil one
But I will answer you, my son
You spoke to me in your pain
Now listen to me as I explain

Your tongue did not sin
Your mouth remained clean
You are rich but you know
That riches are really nothing but show

You are a shadow upon the wall
The sun will rise and the sun will fall
And all you love will pass away
And you my son will go that way

I smile on you so that you will smile too
In all of your days that remain
So that you know that I wont forget you
And that you will live again

Generosity

To the East the Sun
A golden lamp of glory
Soon to appear over the hill
And briefly the blanket of cloud
That will smother its light all morning
Is lit from beneath
Salmon-pink and rose
Then gold

Perceptions of Time and Mortality #4 - Postpartum

I recall
The bottom of the sleeping bag
Soft dark warm confinement - then
Sudden airless panic
The echo of a tunnel of bone - and
Pressure in the head
Waiting for the first breath
Ending aquatic - automatically - then
Light, a bright chill and fright
Gasping, lungs to fill - and
Awful silence amid the chaos
The beat of the universe stilled

I recall
Shadows of a memory
Panic in the bedding - and
Dim recollections as if second hand
Of an earlier truma still