Monday, November 22, 2010

beyond the seen


nothing of the stones
could tell the story of their place
as well
and as kindly
as the tiny eyes
flashing softly
in the whispering shadows

eyes
like clouded crystal puries

sweet pale-green eyes
that peer from beneath
the tumbled grey-black bodies
of those carefully-stacked stones

eyes
that have seen the beginnings
of magic
and the passing
of the talking woods

eyes that have known
the frosted glassy smear
of a winter's morning

and the honeyed buzz
of a summer's day

~

and to the eyes that see beyond the seen
a narrow well-worn path appears
trodden flat
by the countless passings
of tiny shoes

shoes that have gently trodden
past the dried leaves and stalks
of a summer long past

shoes that make no sound

yes,
wait long enough
and a tiny woodfairy
will appear
dressed in the greenest leaves
no matter the season

stitched together
with the finest roots;
silky silver roots
that hum
when they're stroked

and on their feet -
tiny milkweed pods
that make the softest sound -
a tiny breathing sound
as their feet
flatten the soft seedbeds inside

~

listen and look
with care

know that the little part of the world
that we inhabit
and call our own
is so very much
a shared place

and you will know
so much more
of this place
when you see
with eyes
that see
beyond the seen

6 comments:

Reya Mellicker said...

I, too, am friends with the faeries. Sometimes they seem small, sometimes they appear to be HUGE. They hold a history we can only guess about.

Your poetry explains a lot. Yeats was good at talking about that world, too.

Have a happy friday. x

Jo said...

What a lovely 'makes-me-smile' poem and a wonderful coincidence...just yesterday I took my granddaughter for a nature walk and pointed out the little 'fairy clothing' we found along the way. Acorn tops for caps, dandelions for tutu skirts, fern fronds for shoes, etc.

Yes, we all would do well to "listen and look with care."

Thank you for the smile!

Tess Kincaid said...

Eyes that see beyond the seen. I love that.

steven said...

reya - i'm intrigued by your sense that my poetry explains a lot. some of what i'm sharing now is unfettered and so without condition. i'm letting edges in to the golden fish space. friday?! i'll take the kiss!! steven

steven said...

jo i wish i could share more as easily as this poem let me. there's bits and pieces flying round in my head. i wake up in the middle of the night most nights and words and phrases bubble and glare and smile and some of them are here in the morning time. the very little people are a part of what i think and know. lucky me. steven

steven said...

willow - there it was!!! i love those words also. steven