On the Mountain
Mount Brásil, what do you know
with your head in the clouds?
Morning breeze carries a church bell
chiming the hour; the murmuring bees
and fields of red poppy blooms
ask me why I have come.
In leaving you, I can come
back home again, this I know.
Sun glows upon nodding crimson blooms,
My thoughts hum among tender clouds
Like a thousand contented drowsy bees
Lulled by the tolling solitary bell.
And what secrets does that bell
keep? When will our time come
to appreciate the dedication of bees?
How and when will we know?
Us, with our heads in clouds
miss each priceless breaking of blooms.
Everything flourishes and fades, yet blooms
again. I listen. Breeze and bell
tell simple truths. Friends, like clouds,
drift through our lives. We come
and go too, but always know
our home, our hive, like bees.
Dust into honey – precious, dutiful bees
carry their love to all blooms.
I am hive and home, know
my heart sings like a bell
for you, in leaving can come
back to you, beyond the clouds.
Protector of earth! Encircling, caring clouds
shield away sun’s dazzling rays! Bees
trust in your love. All come
back to the mountain which blooms
each and every spring. The bell
leads us, soon we will know.
We have gathered in the meadow,
dozing amongst the poppy blooms.
The clouds have come, bees too,
to hear the pure, clear song of the bell.
And this is what the mountain knows.
Deborah Wenzler is a Carmel poet, designer, editor, and chef. Her professional literary career began in her early twenties as a creative writer of achievement tests for McGraw-Hill, where she later became assistant editor of language arts, then lead editor for the vocabulary division. In 2005, Deborah placed second in The California Writers Club competition with her poem, “Anatomy of a Desert", and in 2010 received the International Publication Prize from The Atlanta Review for another poem, “Supersonic Sect.” Several of Deborah's poems have been published in Song of the San Joaquin Quarterly, and her poem, "Tidal Wave" was paired with Thomas Higgins drawing, "Whale" in Volume III of Imagine & Poesia's Poets and Artists from Around the World, an online publication. Her newest book of poetry, Well Beyond the Water, published in 2019, is available for purchase at Bookshop Santa Cruz, The Phoenix Shop at Nepenthe in Big Sur, and at Baum & Blume in Carmel Valley. Deborah enjoys writing while traveling. Her full-time job is with her family's café and catering company in Carmel Valley.
Mount Brásil, what do you know
with your head in the clouds?
Morning breeze carries a church bell
chiming the hour; the murmuring bees
and fields of red poppy blooms
ask me why I have come.
In leaving you, I can come
back home again, this I know.
Sun glows upon nodding crimson blooms,
My thoughts hum among tender clouds
Like a thousand contented drowsy bees
Lulled by the tolling solitary bell.
And what secrets does that bell
keep? When will our time come
to appreciate the dedication of bees?
How and when will we know?
Us, with our heads in clouds
miss each priceless breaking of blooms.
Everything flourishes and fades, yet blooms
again. I listen. Breeze and bell
tell simple truths. Friends, like clouds,
drift through our lives. We come
and go too, but always know
our home, our hive, like bees.
Dust into honey – precious, dutiful bees
carry their love to all blooms.
I am hive and home, know
my heart sings like a bell
for you, in leaving can come
back to you, beyond the clouds.
Protector of earth! Encircling, caring clouds
shield away sun’s dazzling rays! Bees
trust in your love. All come
back to the mountain which blooms
each and every spring. The bell
leads us, soon we will know.
We have gathered in the meadow,
dozing amongst the poppy blooms.
The clouds have come, bees too,
to hear the pure, clear song of the bell.
And this is what the mountain knows.
Deborah Wenzler is a Carmel poet, designer, editor, and chef. Her professional literary career began in her early twenties as a creative writer of achievement tests for McGraw-Hill, where she later became assistant editor of language arts, then lead editor for the vocabulary division. In 2005, Deborah placed second in The California Writers Club competition with her poem, “Anatomy of a Desert", and in 2010 received the International Publication Prize from The Atlanta Review for another poem, “Supersonic Sect.” Several of Deborah's poems have been published in Song of the San Joaquin Quarterly, and her poem, "Tidal Wave" was paired with Thomas Higgins drawing, "Whale" in Volume III of Imagine & Poesia's Poets and Artists from Around the World, an online publication. Her newest book of poetry, Well Beyond the Water, published in 2019, is available for purchase at Bookshop Santa Cruz, The Phoenix Shop at Nepenthe in Big Sur, and at Baum & Blume in Carmel Valley. Deborah enjoys writing while traveling. Her full-time job is with her family's café and catering company in Carmel Valley.