Lifting the prayers of the earth
Spring has sprung, eagerly
reaching out to the sun before
enough rain has come.
Stubs of corn crouch ghostly
gold and dandelion seeds
fly like autumn midges.
A beech-shadowed chalk stream
chants clear and reflects dancing
clouds, suffused by the sun.
A broken trunk revives, restored
as seven, roots bared, steps down
to water, serving animal thirsts.
Streams spring down banks too steep
to support weaker trees, their flow
blending with the water’s song.
Water meadows meander on the other side,
keeping some balance in these seasons,
of which we are uncertain what we know.
Kites circle, surveying the scene
for signs of flaws in the scheme,
when they will hover and swoop as
crows call from nests at the tops of trees
closest to the sky… as our human souls
intertwine, lifting the prayers of the earth.
M. Anne Alexander’s poetry generally explores restorative relationships with Nature, especially in landscapes with spiritual, historical and contemporary significance. Her background is as a lecturer in English and teacher of Music. She began writing poetry as an outcome of counselling. Poems are published regularly in the Bury Free Press and in Poetry Space, including in their recent Locked Down Anthology. Other poems are to appear in the August and September issues of Dreich. She is also author of Thomas Hardy: the “dream-country” of his fiction – a study of the creative process (Vision Press/Barnes & Noble).
Amethyst Review 