the air was here
before us
the water, the rock,
the unnamed insect
the wandering tribes
of earth and sky
every day I
bless the aster
bless the milkweed
bless the goldenrod
sing to the bees
the monarchs the
rising song of the birds
every day an elegy
a death song
the heart cries out for
love and loss
grief and joy
the birds flying through
the heart, rising.
Gary Lawless
Gary Lawless is a poet, bioregional advocate, and co-founder of Gulf of Maine Books, in Brunswick Maine.
He and his wife Beth Leonard care-take the old farm of Henry Beston & Elizabeth Coatsworth (both acclaimed authors of the mid-20th century), near Damariscotta Lake.
Gary’s score of poetry collections includes Poems for the Wild Earth and Caribou Planet. His new book of poems is How the Stones Came to Venice, and his poetry blog.