small talk

I had landed there,

contrary to my hunch

that the affair

would be a bunch

of people I don’t know

gassing on and on about

not particularly much, at all,

in brilliant bursts

of repartee –

and so, it came

as no surprise to me,

when I found myself

adrift, in a sea

of cheese platters

and clatters of mystery appetizers

staring down in rapt intensity

at a mountain of melon balls . . .

mercifully:

the obligatory trays

of white wine filled glasses passed

amongst the captive guests

with military punctuality

until – at last –

I seized on inspiration,

to lend my voice to the escalating din

that bounced blustering around me,

off of the buzzing walls

by pointing out, astutely:

"Melon balls".

photo:  White Wine Night Out – W. Bourke 

© 2013 Wendy Bourke

complicated memory

she left 

a rather complicated 

memory

or perhaps, it is I  

who made it so

with my disney childhood,  

and sixties rose-colored glasses, 

and I-don’t-know-why
to-this-day propensity 

to hang on 

in white scratches

 

to the person  

she wanted to be 

photo:  Complicated Memory – W. Bourke 

© 2013 Wendy Bourke

purple pebbles

I meandered,

in thistle colored purple pebbles

that shone, pebble after pebble:

flashing dots – amidst the ramble –

until I came upon a charming rock,

that invited me, to be seated

and to rest, good-naturedly,

in soft soul restoring sounds

with my feet

dipped in cool splashes of silvery mauve brook

and end-of-day, light wind breaths

upon my face, in familiar traces:

ethereal wafts

of pleasant other times and places,

in peaceful violet shimmers

and streams of clarity

until, at length, I was called –

by the deepening shadows –

to make my way back to my home

and so

with great reluctant resolution

I rose, at last, and turned

and began to walk away

from that lovely purple pebbled place,

knowing – another day – I would come again . . .
and yet, again . . . . . .

note:  I wrote about the Third Eye (Crown Chakra or Mind’s Eye) in my poem the Purple Flower, a while back - because I have, in fact, seen (what I have come to refer to as) the Purple Flower, occasionally when I have closed my eyes, meditatively.  And indeed, so have a number of other people I have talked to (as in:  Oh yes, all the time) often in conjunction with yoga.   On a personal level, I do feel restored after these periods of introspection.  And research is beginning to indicate that there likely is a physiological explanation for this phenomenon.  Very briefly – as I am very much a layperson in this multifaceted field – the Third Eye is associated with the pituitary gland and the thalamus.  These glands control the central nervous system, and they are located in the center of the brain. Recent studies have linked them to consciousness, and new studies indicate that they actually respond to light – hence the idea of a third eye.  That, being said, I have always found that being in a violet hued environment, in and of itself, to be very calming and restful. 

photo:  Purple Pebbles – W. Bourke 

© 2013 Wendy Bourke