Iris puppy tongue panting
Giant iris puppies loll
deep purple among the daisies,
lush tongues panting.
Sun bounces off white petals.
Cherry tree laughs,
Heart opens,
Cottonwood seeds snow.
Crow calls:
“Here be your now!
Now is the time!”
by Laurie Fraser
Iris puppies
She fingers warmth
from the winter sun.
Wood swells
dust rests
in the slow afternoon.
Winter poppies
The best moments
this long winter
have been indoors-
sunlight
armchair
woodstove.
It’s a lonely peace.
Music drops me
a decade ago-
cold sunny days,
adventure-fresh.
You were so alive.
Laughing big-
our coats open
unafraid
under a turquoise sky.
Even without the music
I would cry for you today.
Cappadocia turquoise sky
pale sweet flower
Pale
Sweet
Flower
lines of old
dry palms
touch wings.
Paper ways of you
dusty days with you
gentle waves are you
steady
rocking
me
alive.
1986 (For Fleur)
The elephant stands at a crossroads
in this town at the edge of the desert.
The people and their vehicles sputter hotly.
My driver is resigned.
His accent sings
“This is the only road.
When the elephant allows us
we will move again.”
In the choking wind he lights a cigarette.
Possibly delirious,
I walk into the crowd
to admire the working elephant
who remembered at a crossroads
he is the biggest.
Laurie Fraser
Udaipur, India
