Fist of God

Morning

I love you sweetheart 

Aren’t you the brave one

Look how big you’re getting!

Pulling out my chair as I speak

Only two things grow here

In my tiny fourth floor garret

Off and on

A lonely little poem

Will sprout within my heart

I coax it into the light of day

Trim words there

Add words here

Occasionally go full bonsai

Outside my window

Dawn grows into day

I hear the rhythmic snap of beaks

The cheerful noise of crows

Driven by dawn

To their first feed of peanuts

Talons clenched to feeder

A platter like a pasta bowl

I sit with my left writing hand

Near my first coffee

Fingers impatient with the cooling

I raise my eyes from the right hand

Stack of spiral notebooks

Across the scatter of little notes 

To self, phone numbers, reminders

To my little beauty

Resting upon the window sill

A thriving aloe vera

New fingers of waxy green

Sprouting almost daily

Oh you’re a beauty

In my loneliness

I speak to her

To this little vibrant fist

Of God

Reviews

[Kathy Van Kurin]

Michael Sun Bear,
Crows have their own unique communication dynamic:
"I hear the rhythmic snap of beaks
The cheerful noise of crows
driven by dawn"
I think your entering this space of your life speaking
Of the living things around you is encouraging. Even
with others around us we can feel alone. This shows
that the human heart is wanting to seek what enlivens
and inspires. How fun to bring in the dawn and then
a little guy your aloe vera. It has not given up but
is pushing forward and as you point out.
"Oh you're a beauty"
Now you find a conduit for your soul:
"In my loneliness
I speak to her
To this little vibrant fist
Of God"
Thanks for the finding God in the little things.
I sure liked it.
Blessings,
Kathy

[Michael Sun Bear]

Kathy, thank you so much for the generous review. Crows are fascinating, they have a complex language, they memorize people in their environment. At my last home I fed crows, other birds, animals on the ground. The crows were very cautious as to how close I could get. Here the crows allow me much closer, why? It took several months before I had an epiphany. My fourth floor apartment deck is to them just a weird tree. At this altitude the crows feel safer, the environment 60 feet in the air is their natural every day space.

[Chris Shaw]

A poem of nurture. Plants and poems need both to survive. Need watering with love, need sweet nothings whispered to encourage growth. A lovely start to your morning in your own space, coffee at the ready. Intrigued by the title. Would love to know more Michael.

Chris

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thanks Chris. I was in a slump then read Fred’s poem Untitled Shift which inspired me to take another whack at writing about my tiny living space. It was an untitled work in progress, when suddenly the last stanza just wrote itself and I knew the poem was done. It came out of nowhere, but once I heard it in my mind, I thought “fist” was appropriate in multiple ways. The Aloe Vera has all those little waxy green “fingers.” It is so little but just thriving, almost as if saying: Just try and keep me down. It reminded me of the old power salutes of the Panthers, and others. Think “We shall overcome!” I was hinting at the fact that all life, big or small, comes from God, is God in fact. I am sure you have had that experience where a line, a stanza, an entire poem seems to just write itself. Once I saw that stanza had closed the poem, I had my title which I thought incidentally would be a good hook for the casual reader who may not be a regular.

[Chris Shaw]

Ah, thank you so much for giving me some background Michael.

[SYNN]

What a beautiful start to the day, the anxious poet. His children are all over and coming to Papa to take care of them. This author is so in tune to even the snaps of the beaks and aware of the notes and numbers, ah, those spiral notebooks!
I see the entire scene and that aloe vera, such a miracle! "Oh you're a beauty" I hear a tenderness in that voice talking to the fist of God. That gave me chills to my toes! Such a great write!

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thank you, that is very generous of you.

[Desert Knave]

I love the surprise closing with the aloe vera ... my little darlings include a pothos and an arrowhead plant. Good write. ~Jim

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thanks Jim