from “Illumination” by Elizabeth Woody

…

Tender events are meeting halves and wholes of affinity,

the recurrence of whimsy and parallel streams

flush away the blockage of malaise.

Incessant gratitude, pliable kindness smolders

in the husk of these sweet accumulations:

abalone shells, the thoughtful carvings from friends,

the stone of another’s pocket, the photo of mystified

moon over water, the smiles of worn chairs.

…

The sun has its own drum contenting itself with the rose

heart it takes into continual rumbling. The connection

of surface and hand. The great head of dark clouds finds

its own place of unraveled repercussions and disruption,

elsewhere, over the tall, staunch mountains of indemnity.