Early Morning Poem by John Lavan

ice, hard as stone
- standing – in the North –
bring it South, to home,
the hearth, the heart, the home.

Sons radiate upstairs
- I sit in new light
reading Emily Dickinson –
voices vibrate, doors
slam, open and re-slam.
The house cracks and a clock
ticks second by second.

Ice, hard as stone
- standing – in the North –
bring it South, to home,
the hearth, the heart, the home

and I feel a moment
(relaxation)
before slow steps
onto stairs;
an engagement
for needs,
hugs

Ice, hard as stone
- standing – in the North –
bring it South, to home,
the hearth, the heart, the home.