BLUE STRAWBERRIES
I dreamt last night
Of blue strawberries,
The field they grew in
So big and so blue
It tilted the sky,
Until the world turned upside down.
The sea,
Thundering and roaring,
Fell upon us
Catching us unaware.
Yet, as the waves
Swept us away
None of us were sorry.
Too busy looking forward
To a new beginning,
To a scrubbed clean version
Of an old tomorrow,
Full of blue strawberries.
For if they were there,
Who knows what else
Was waiting for us.
Hope, for certain.
©2021 Gwen Grant
MARCH HARES
March Hares
Boxing in the middle of the big field.
The wide white light of the moon
Tearing shadows into fragments
Of black and white confetti.
These magical creatures,
Owned by witches and wizards,
Bring magic with them.
They are the first to see darkness
Detach itself from the silent hedgerows.
The first to hear hunters
Drop to the cold ground,
To steal the hare’s likeness
For their photograph albums.
Greedy to capture the joyful secrets
Of wild creatures made of magic,
Eyes full of white moonlight,
Ears that semaphore night secrets.
Witches and wizards hiding
In the darkness of fretwork trees,
Balancing on stones in icy rivers.
To scare away those who desire
To see the beauty of March hares,
Boxing in white moonlight.
© 2021 Gwen Grant
At our front doorstep, we have a tiny flower, much smaller than the
other flowers around it, and yet it is so blue, its blueness shines out
and turns all the other lovely flowers into handmaidens. This flower
is called LITHODORA.
ALL THE BLUE IN THE WORLD
This tiny flower,
Smaller than a baby’s smallest finger,
is so blue,
The wonder is that any blueness
is left in the world,
Drenched and drowned in colour
as this little flower is.
There is passion here,
A deep, unfailing tenderness
In its tiny petalled perfection.
Nothing has been held back,
No scintilla of grace denied
To this small and lovely blossom.
This scrap of beauty,
Its clear blue flame
Shining down the damp and grassy darkness,
Lights the dark path in front of us,
Giving a sudden, startling glimpse
Of a blazing, generous love.
© 2013 GWEN GRANT
BREAK-OUT
Longing for freedom,
We fly always
Too close to the sun,
Poor things
That we are.
Yet courageous.
For although we forever mistake
Our glittering fancies
For the gleam of freedom,
We carry on.
Often disappointed
To find we are still tethered
To our dreams.
Slowly learning
We can only lose ourselves
In love.
© 2021 Gwen Grant.
PAINTING THE WORLD
Rare flowers
Transplanted
To another earth,
Wondering if they
Will ever put down roots.
New trees
Shedding leaves
As they left
Their bit of land.
Certain they would grow
Fine fruit
Given half a chance.
Flowers and trees,
Fruit and leaves
Enrich whole countries,
Make them
Even more beautiful.
Beauty on beauty.
©2021 Gwen Grant
Poems by Gwen Grant 