life's desire to be

I always enjoy going back to this 1998 poetry collection (as pictured), which was edited by Ruth Byars ...

... here's the poem she chose, from the many within, as the winning verse from the overall collection:


Aspen's Dear

Aspen's leaves shimmer in the autumnal haze,
Kaleidoscope of greens, yellows and purple waves,
North westerly wind breathing life into the still mass
Chilling and charming each veined frame to the grass,
Pulses strong, life's desire to be;
Flickers of light now stream through once black shadowed ground,
Temptress cold that beguiles and woos
the still mass to its charms
until, all destinies are found;
And the fall initiated by one, will not end till all have gone,
And the ground is covered by a summer's song.

rest now and rot,
matted, mottled residue,
your finger beckons
and etches into onto
cold granite faces;
so many leaves have fallen
and have yet to

---

P J Woodhouse

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