An Amethyst Retreat – a poem by Janet Krauss

An Amethyst Retreat

in memory of three friends


I have to know the right rock
to split open and find a forest
of miniature violet crystals
waiting for me,
its own light its sun
beckoning me to wander within
until I reach a clearing
the sky reveals, the sky
a steadfast blue
as I visit my three friends
leaning against a fountain,
their laughter mingling
with the burble of the water,
and weaving whispers of welcome
to warm my back.

We walk together
along a dogwood white path
that echoes their words--
one friend finds the glove
lost in her poem, another keeps
sending the snow child
back to her elderly parents,
and another shares again
with me the story
of the two brothers
who cannot live without the other.

When my friends blur
and  I cannot hear their voices,
it is time to leave
my amethyst clutched in hand.

Janet Krauss, who has two books of poetry published, Borrowed Scenery, Yuganta Press, and Through the Trees of Autumn, Spartina Press, has recently retired from teaching English at Fairfield University. Her mission is to help and guide Bridgeport’s  young children through her teaching creative writing, leading book clubs and reading to and engaging a kindergarten class. As a poet, she co-directs the poetry program of the Black Rock Art Guild.