Can you make something

Can you make something

From nothing,

Take a treeless leaf

Twist it into what it is not

Make it into something

It might want to be?

A boat on a restless sea,

A fragile raft

Braving the rapids,

A crisp of dust beneath your feet.

Powdered foundation,

A rust blush for

Sodden tangled turf.

Sinking in the deep.

Will it rise in your mind?

Stay alive

As you catch the wind,

Whisper a promise

In the ear of the dark.

Seek out the essence,

The pith and the heart

Of a romance,

Relinquish your fate,

Make it squeak,

Here it speak.

Let it be other than it seems,

Stand close to the edge,

Catching handfuls of stardust,

Season your dreams,

With the spice of life.

Wring them out

Of pitfalls and screams,

Chase those dark halls

With the grounds

Of a freshly brewed morning.

Drink from the well

Of the divine,

Give voice to a thought

Remember your name.

It can be all you have to go on

When the cold

Freezes the brain.

A poet’s word,

On its own,

May not be enough

To warm the hands

When winter comes to call.

But it might just keep

The wolf from your door.