Poetry by

Patty Mager

 
HAPPY TO SINK INTO THE DEPTHS OF MY CHAIR
 
Sunset bleeds through my window.
I revel in the fiery lake that sets bobbing boats ablaze
A gust of wind whispers ghost songs
through the eaves,
accompanied by the stirrings of sparrows.
 
Shadows narrow vision
leaving puddles on the floor.
Through the last drops of red
lavender grapples a wisp of black smoke;
the first strand of moonlight

 

THE RIPENING

 
In the cool years,
unpalatable and green,
friends intone well-worn words
against old songs of heartache.
 
Now the clock begins again,
its backbeat accompanying
ordinary conversation.
 
It's been so long since I've seen you,
and now that you've arrived
our hearts begin to remember
moonlit nights, shooting stars,
the secret code;
we alone know its color.
 
Wearing clever disquises,
we let the wind die down,
listen to jazz,
drink little cups of pungent coffee.
 
The sky is black
and tonight there is no moon.
 
We find our way into bed
with the calm inevitability
of old lovers;
rebuilding shattered egos,
tranquilizng jangled nerves,
always at the flash point.
 
Four nights later in a mood of happiness
we spin our tires over dusty roads.
drinking toasts until dawn.
 
We are not the birds
rising in the morning sky,
we are sun-riders,
changing water into
red and gold.
Perfectly happy
with only a dog barking,
to note our passing.
 
 
 
REUNION

 

We gather under green striped tents;
drinks and appetizers,
humor bordering on parody.
 
Strains of mandolin fall across the flowers.
Just past the garden beds
toad-lilies play against the sky,
slips of light dance like ballerinas.
 
Sweet heady young wine,
purple as plums,
a delightful tipsiness rises.
 
The sun drops soft as dandelion-down
in a patina of iridescent colors.
Deep in foliage, things chirp,
flit and flutter, on all sides and overhead.
 
It's rather cozy, this trek into night,
the renewal of old feelings
 
 
 
Patty Mager, a banker, Investor, and a poet, has been published in both the American and Fort Worth Haiku Society Journals and Bottlecap Magazine.  She has been published in The Elms, a literary publication sponsored by Eureka College on several occasions.  She had a two page article published about her in 2004 in the Webster-Kirkwood times, featuring four of her poems.  When she was a young girl she wanted to be an artist but lacked the talent to succeed.  She finds that poetry fills that void.  Now she successfully creates pictures using her vivid imagination and her love for words.