Dogwood

I could tell you of
the dogwood trembling above
as it feels spring's love

Barbara Butler McCoy

[Photo: a dogwood blossom on the
tree in my courtyard; April, 2009]

Roundabout

She believes
believes in love.
What else can she do?
She takes the roundabout.
For so long she has
endured the runaround.

Round and round,
again,
in and out and about,
again,
since she stepped from her shell
hoping to end her exile.
Celestial body riding
the tracks of her tears.

A pilgrim to these shores
where uncertainty leaves us
reeling.
She knows and we will learn
our broken hearts,
hearts with room for ladders
to Beauty's divine mystery.

Barbara Butler McCoy

[Photo: a scooter I spotted
near the Woodruff Arts
Center; Atlanta, GA; April 2009]

Sisters' Windows (a response to The Four, Challenge No. 11)

Some sisters escape -
escape what blinds,
obscures the view,
escape the pain.

Sisters open their
shutters, see light,
focus their eyes
and expose life.

Barbara Butler McCoy

[This poem was also submitted as
a response to Challenge No. 11 from
The Four and suggested by Kirsten Crilly:
"Then swing your window open, the one
with fresh air and good eastern light
and watch for wings, edges, new
beginnings." Monique Duvall]

[Photo: Window above doorway,
Candler Building; Atlanta, GA;
March 2009]