Three poems by Joseph Farley

Pentecost

The fire rained down
From the sky
And landed on our heads,
Flames danced
Above our brows
And we spoke in many tongues
As our flesh melted
And our only words
Became thoughts.

We glided holy wounded
Among twisted beams of steel
And the powdered rubble
Of our cities.
In this end we are all one,
Joined by the light
And the pain of atoms,
Right down to
Our particle being.

*******************

The Woodpecker

A redheaded woodpecker
taps out morning sonnets
on the dead branches
of the lilac tree.

Peck peck peck, dot dot dot
mesmerizing Morse code
outside the bedroom window
cosmic poetry.

===================

Making the Sahara a Garden

rake the sand
arrange the stones
according to the principals
of fengshui
wait for
the moon to rise
over mountains
and shadows to fall
in just the right way

Author bio:

Joseph Farley edited Axe Factory for 24 years. His books include Suckers, For The Birds and Longing for the Mother Tongue (March Street Press).