the poet’s collection
The Rondeau: Creative Imagery
originally written in 2021, revised in 2026
She Cannot Thrive
She cannot thrive; her condition is prone
To a sprawling presence, wildly overgrown.
She once stood as the image of purity,
Tainted now by a forced maturity;
An accountability we cannot disown.
Perhaps she prefers to be left on her own,
Considering the disregard she has been shown.
Stripped of her natural security,
She cannot thrive...
Better off without us, yet never alone,
Only through action can we attempt to atone
For the pain we've inflicted, our immaturity.
A shadow is cast on our shared futurity;
When silence is all that we seem to condone,
She cannot thrive...
The A-B-A-B Quatrains
Absolution
Mother Nature surrounds us to protect and provide,
Shielding our spirits from man-made invasions.
There was never an epoch when mankind was denied
Her verdant ethos, despite our evasions.
We build atop beauty and conquer her trees;
The air we inhale is choked by pollutants.
She quietly suffers, yet we ignore the pleas,
Refusing to see we are the true obstruents.
Our fault is admitted, yet we halt our strides.
Lovers of her beauty attempt their persuasions
To save our shared home from the weight of our pride,
While the Earth bears the scars of our daily abrasions.
The torment inflicted should bring us to our knees,
Fearing the vengeance of her retribution.
Let us return her grace to the highest degrees,
And heal this self-authored destruction with absolution.
When She Calls
Hopeless and afraid,
A hollow vessel, resting empty.
No voice calls my name,
Yet my spirit calls for Her.
An earth of love and restoration;
I hear, “She heals the brokenhearted,
And binds up every wound.”
My heavy sorrows have departed,
She fortifies my soul.
Hopeful, visionary,
A wellspring rising, running full.
She finally calls my name,
And my spirit answers Her.
An earth of love and restoration;
I hear, “She heals the brokenhearted,
And binds up every wound.”
My heavy sorrows have departed,
She fortifies my soul.
Mother Nature, Lead me to the Dawn
A world of shadow,
Severed from the earth itself.
Mother, lead me to the dawn,
And let your light shine down.
Be still and know,
She is with you always.
In the deepest of waters,
She is with you always.
The way of this world,
Excluding Her from our lives.
Mother, lead us to the dawn,
And let your light shine down.
Be still and know,
She is with you always.
In the deepest of waters,
She is with you always.