innocence of a strident word

when i walk barefoot on jagged stone

i think of the soothing cool if it was white sand
and as i walk on sharp and bristly shrub
i remember the soft full grasses
underneath my naked feet

when my words sometimes come strident

and they dwell upon the sadness of things
i, too, recall the mellifluous incantations of
Shakespeare, Joyce Kilmer, Shelley and Poe
and i thank them

not always do i choose perforce lamentations

in the subject of my words
but like tickling sprinkles of rain can give way
to a thunderous and ominous storm,
the crumpled debris and broken glass
abutting sidewalk edges all are the character
of reality that reside in the street

i also see the lilies and daffodils sway

in warming breezes of spring
the pristine lakes reflecting the verdant
hills and the ornamental cotton figurines
teasing the finger tips of our precious sun

i see the baby smile in mother’s arms,

the child playing with her pup,
two lovers embracing in the park,
seagulls flying o’er his silver strands of hair
as he feeds them whilst they hover
in the air and little joy ascends in this,

my words can come softly, about…

when innocence prevails