In Hunter Mountain from Flowers in Autumn (link to view or purchase the book)

In Hunter Mountain

Silently, in the black of midnight,
We sit perplexed – motionless atop Hunter Mountain.
Hundreds of stars beckon us to stare skyward
And at last, amidst my silent prayer,
One dying ember shoots south arching swiftly to peace.

Inside, snapping sparks fly within the hearth –
Hours of stoking and kindling care.
Coals glowing orange heat more than the heart.
Rich cocoa mellows – perhaps too ideal as we snuggle and find ourselves warmly frozen and mesmerized.

A moan and several stretches later, Comet settles close.
Moments ago racing through crisp leaves and frosted earth
Declaring his bliss amidst endless terrain,
He stakes claim to his new found territory.

Finally, all eyelids fall heavy as logs burning shadows bounce aimlessly about the chalet.
We succumb at last and nod off with a smile and a snore.

Welcome to my blog!

I have a blog associated with lulu.com (http://people.lulu.com/blogs/view.php?user_id=512690), where my book is distributed, but not a great deal of traffic finds its way there. And so, I decided to begin a blog here and hope you find some solace, or some chuckles or some symbiosis from my posts. Since I have been focusing a good deal of my energy lately on my first book, FLOWERS IN AUTUMN: endings and beginnings, I though I would begin by sharing one of the poems from that book. You can also feel free to preview the book for free online at http://www.lulu.com/parplaywright.

Enjoy and as always...be well.

A Flower in Autumn

I saw you last night - running, playing, hitting.
You had a glow like a candle inside a pumpkin on
Halloween.
I tried to touch you but you were gone - a haze.

I heard your voice - yelling, screaming, crying.
Your pain echoed like a call inside the catacombs.
I searched for you until I lost consciousness.

I awoke at your grave; snow stung my lips.
The wind blowing as though millions of souls were
breathing at once,
and then, calm.

I began to dig through the snow at your grave
as if to resurrect your spirit from the frozen earth.

And then, all at once, I was paralyzed.
There, in a drift, in front of your stone it stood.
One flower poised as a sentinel fighting the fall.
A flower in autumn.

My tears, frozen to my face; my breath choked inside my
flesh.
I thought to turn and run, and then I heard you whisper -
"Brother I will not forget you."
Through all the years I'd never known and now from
death, life.

Then I stood, fighting my own fall, shouting the show into
circles -
"Nor I you, nor I you."

I wrote this poem in my brother's memory who was born in 1964 with Downs Syndrome and died at the age of 16 (when I was just 14). His life was a deep inspiration to so much of what I have done and his love was the most pure love I have ever known. I am certain that he is my guardian angel and that when I see him again, he will indeed be running and playing and hitting.