Impressions of the World Beyond the City
For the Walters' Family

I pulled a blade of grass -
feeling the tension as I tore it from the ground,
smearing white onto my fingertips.

Wind rushes through the willowtrees
Making it sigh the way
the ocean cries.

If I could bottle this shade of green
and put my face against that veil of
ripples and hear a reflected birdsong
If I could bring home this serenity of an unchanging moment;
Write this down, this ethereal silence in words
unimagined;
To feed upon the scent of it day after day

Then I might perchance
be glad to see home again.