Stantton Pallister
Resonate
Black
lacquered teak
Polished
Shivers
Spiced
incense drips from
Hand
carved cedar rafters
His
bright robes
Flutter
with each tone
His
throat is bottled thunder
Rolling
Down
long halls
Through
ancient archways
Outside,
drops of water shake from trees
His mind
is a skin drum
Stretched over a taught frame
Empty of
pain, worry or doubt
But when
sounded!
Strong
enough to carve compassion, humility
And faith
Onto
granite
His soul
is a leaf in an endless forest
Spirit
sounds deeply when the wind blows
Upon it
Masked
by the green canopy
Blissful
nothingness is assured
Stantton Pallister ©
___________________________________________________
New Directions
From the
apartment window
I see
into the
street
brown
and blonde heads
bobbling
along
News
stand
T shirt
card and a
wooden
crate
kicked
onto an
open
fire hydrant
speak to
me
a
chastened whisper
Behind
me
she
dozes comfortably
on my
bed
cotton
sheet
shyly
covers a thigh
her soft
breathing
silences
the
street’s voice
Stantton Pallister ©
__________________________________________________
Chesapeake Bathing
Water,
warm enough to fill a lion claw bathtub
Blue
salty haze marries the sea and sky
Waves
make the surf cough
Spitting
thick foam upon the tide mark
Arcing
water draws across the sand,
Shaving
its edge
Salt and
spray are carried form a distant deep
As waves
draw in
The
bring the cool quenching sea breeze,
Feeder
fish
She
inhales deeply
Waves go
out, slip away
They are
Unwanted
children
Scrambling, wishing they could be reborn
She
exhales
She is a
quiet messenger
Receiving a fishhook or skipped stone
A tire
A bottle
Delivering the promise of tranquility, humility and
harmony
with her dominion
Stantton Pallister ©
