Poems | Chris

Photo Credit : LeeLa

Comfortable silence

The quiet four had been sitting
in silence around the fire,
undisturbed
by thoughts and words,
for several hours

The moon traveled slowly
across the night,
crickets and frogs sang,
owls hooted and dogs howled
and the leopard walked quietly around,
waiting for a chance to grab
something to eat

The fire was kept low,
and now and then it would be fed
another log

Flames lept and flowed,
embers glowed
and wood slowly turned into ash

The stars and the planets
flew quietly by,
and one by one
the fire watchers rose
and made their way through the dark
and to their beds
until just one was left
at the fire's side,
keeping it company
a little while longer


And when the moon was halfway
to the other side,
he too got up
and returned to his hut
slowly




Into the dark

The smell of honey drifted
from the hive near the top of the eucalyptus tree
and mingled with the flames
that licked and danced their way
along the log that lay
upon the glowing embers
of those that had gone before
into the fire,
caressing the wood
as it shed its story
and turned into smoke and ash


The story that had been ingrained in the tree,
the record of what had occurred before,
vanished without complaint,
and as the glow of the embers flowed
among the cinders and the ash,
two friends rose and walked into the dark,
leaving their stories behind



Cat wisdom

Eat and drink,
sleep and play,
be quiet, observe and listen,
make love
and do nothing at all

Enjoy the company of others
and be happy alone

Purr and flow

Be simple

Be natural

Just be



A locomotive has no need for wagons

Through the lush greens of a late tropical summer,
a locomotive made its way down the tracks
pulling some wagons behind,
one for each year
it had been alive,
filled with memories and emotions,
weighing it down


And one day it realized
that it had no need for wagons
and all they contained,
so it uncoupled them
and let them fall behind


Free of the past
and without a thought in its mind,
the locomotive continued on,
enjoying the ride
and reflecting for a moment
now and then
whether to go left or right


Read other poems by Chris here