Since Nov. 8th, 2016
Silence is a lonely place…
~~Ludwig van Beethoven
Like Beethoven after he was deaf
I listen with my inner ear,
wait to hear songs of hope return,
language of poems, lost
in the dark nights of disbelief,
long days of turmoil and lies.
So I listen for the rhythm
of galaxies turning
in a universe where fairness
to all beings is possible.
I listen for clear high notes
sounding from stars
and words from the people
who speak out against injustice.
I listen, listen
and when I finally hear-
it is my own voice, rising up
joining in a chorus
of millions crying out…ENOUGH1
Evanescence
Mid-March on the cusp of spring.
I give up the news,
turn towards lengthening light,
away from a palpable grief
that permeates this world…
…go instead to the garden
tulips remembering how it feels
to unfold their cupped glory
earthworms, burrowing
persistent in dark brown loam.
Everything returns home
in one way or another-
some too soon.
Now two crows, raucous, yet tender
preen each other’s glossy black feathers,
tear strips of bark from my neighbor’s Palm
fly off into their seasonal destiny-
nest, eggs, scrawny chicks.
Sometimes what is predictable
births itself
in the flesh of astonishment
evanescence…
Carmel Valley Sunset
Rolling green, oak covered hills
soft like shoulders rounded
by erosion’s persistent love.
Draped in twilight shadows,
sheathed in sleeves of blue mist,
glowing yellow trim at the horizon--
day lowers its tired arms.
Indigo darkness wraps its night fabric
over every rise and shallow
of this valley’s ample body
as infinite willing stars sequin the sky.
Kate Aver Avraham is a published poet and children’s author. Her poetry has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines including Sisters Singing; Nimrod International Journal; Porter Gulch Review; Homestead Review. Her chapbook, Perhaps the Truth is Also Blue, won the Celebration of the Muse/Poetry Santa Cruz publication prize in 2010. Her children’s books include: Joey’s Way (MacMillan/Margaret McElderry Books) and What Will You Be, Sara Mee? (Charlesbridge Publishing, Boston), We Are All Related, biography of Patrick, Yana-hea, Orozco, Chief and Chairman of the Pajaro Valley Ohlone Indian Council; and a poetry collection titled Just For A While Longer. Kate lives in Santa Cruz, CA .
Silence is a lonely place…
~~Ludwig van Beethoven
Like Beethoven after he was deaf
I listen with my inner ear,
wait to hear songs of hope return,
language of poems, lost
in the dark nights of disbelief,
long days of turmoil and lies.
So I listen for the rhythm
of galaxies turning
in a universe where fairness
to all beings is possible.
I listen for clear high notes
sounding from stars
and words from the people
who speak out against injustice.
I listen, listen
and when I finally hear-
it is my own voice, rising up
joining in a chorus
of millions crying out…ENOUGH1
Evanescence
Mid-March on the cusp of spring.
I give up the news,
turn towards lengthening light,
away from a palpable grief
that permeates this world…
…go instead to the garden
tulips remembering how it feels
to unfold their cupped glory
earthworms, burrowing
persistent in dark brown loam.
Everything returns home
in one way or another-
some too soon.
Now two crows, raucous, yet tender
preen each other’s glossy black feathers,
tear strips of bark from my neighbor’s Palm
fly off into their seasonal destiny-
nest, eggs, scrawny chicks.
Sometimes what is predictable
births itself
in the flesh of astonishment
evanescence…
Carmel Valley Sunset
Rolling green, oak covered hills
soft like shoulders rounded
by erosion’s persistent love.
Draped in twilight shadows,
sheathed in sleeves of blue mist,
glowing yellow trim at the horizon--
day lowers its tired arms.
Indigo darkness wraps its night fabric
over every rise and shallow
of this valley’s ample body
as infinite willing stars sequin the sky.
Kate Aver Avraham is a published poet and children’s author. Her poetry has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines including Sisters Singing; Nimrod International Journal; Porter Gulch Review; Homestead Review. Her chapbook, Perhaps the Truth is Also Blue, won the Celebration of the Muse/Poetry Santa Cruz publication prize in 2010. Her children’s books include: Joey’s Way (MacMillan/Margaret McElderry Books) and What Will You Be, Sara Mee? (Charlesbridge Publishing, Boston), We Are All Related, biography of Patrick, Yana-hea, Orozco, Chief and Chairman of the Pajaro Valley Ohlone Indian Council; and a poetry collection titled Just For A While Longer. Kate lives in Santa Cruz, CA .