Astonishing

And then, I thought the moment - more, 

than flowing simply by,  

     like breaking waves upon the shore  

     that palely pass in breathy sighs –  

for, suddenly, I felt it so: 

     swept up in something warm and dear.

And my heart began to soar  

though the closeness hushed 

     and soothed me to the core 

     and calmed the flutter of his touch –

for, suddenly, I felt it so:  

     cascading joy - astonishing - 
          as a tear.

photo:  Astonishing – W. Bourke 

© 2013 Wendy Bourke

On a personal note:  I am very pleased to pass on my inclusion in the Ontario Poetry Society’s Verse Afire Jan. 2014 – April 2014 edition for my poem Green Cardigan Sweater. 

the address book

my old address book  
had fallen behind 
the hall stand – 
the spot where things 
land on their way 
into and out of,
and circle my life

and, there, by chance,  
lifted from its hiding place, 
the book – in dusty glory –
fell open in my hands

though, as I leafed through  
the long ago penned pages 
filled with names 
I had forgotten, and houses 
occupied by strangers . . .

names and streets and numbers,  
that are of no consequence, 
to me – now . . .

it seemed, in that moment,
perhaps, my time  
might have been better spent 
recording the addresses 
of places I have known 
that are familiar and welcoming 
and receive me

affably, in melodic tones . . .

always.

photo:  Oceanside – W. Bourke

  

© 2012 Wendy Bourke

THE BOOKSTORE

in dusk shadows

on the busy city street  

in the quickening of night

raindrops, upon the asphalt,  

gave the illusion 

of a crackle glass path

filled with ruby strings  

of blinking brake lights

that accelerating people  

filed past

in a race to end the day. 

 

then suddenly, there, before me, lay . . .
 

THE BOOKSTORE

yawning, with all the splendiferous comfort

of a bedtime story book. 

photos:  The Bookstore (McLeod’s Bookstore on Pender in Vancouver - a Harry Potter-esque trove of beautiful books where you can, literally lose yourself, gleefully, for hours). 

© 2013 Wendy Bourke