Of Practical Means... Poem by RIC BASTASA

for those that come
i am ready
not only to embrace
its whole body
but also to explain
the necessity of
its parts that i too must
accept and love, thus

when i cannot see the stars
tonight
i accept that this happens
often
because
some heavy clouds are here
and they need
to drift and
release their
burdens

and soon it will rain
and all the thirsty fields of the
earth are craving
for water
from the heavens
for their satiation

i have known rain
and it does not surprise me
in these cold times
of my life

& if ever
another big flood comes along
this winding river
carrying drift wood
and mud
and carcass of some
wild pigs and
wingless birds

i still must respect
what nature is all
about
its way of cleansing
itself

& then
on a calm morning
after the storn
i busy myself
collecting all these
drifted things
thinking that perhaps
early tomorrow
i can construct the
bridge of my dreams

or that house
where my new hope
must
immediately reside