Starlight Dawning

- 2 Haiku and a Bridge - 

The night sky dawns, hushed;

stars punctuating darkness,

calling out, “Truth! Truth!”

 

But there are some who fear the night

and the darkness and the stars punctuating

that dark expanse with starlight shining through,

carrying the wisdom of the ages and its truth,

truths carried age to age in the constellations

and the stories and the gods, and afraid, they hide

themselves inside, away from the darkness, hide

behind the artificial light of ignorance and fear,

and they do not listen, do not see, do not hear

the still small voices of the ages, the sages

of time calling out, “Truth! Truth!”

whispered to those too afraid to hear.

 

Truth called out, softly

spoken, rising, crescendoed,

in starlight dawning.

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The lake this morning was satin,

shimmering in muted sunlight,

a fashion statement of grace and elegance

in this slow waltz of nature waking

in the grand ballroom of morning. 

The Tall Ships

A summer’s day, and a cool breeze

billowing the sails visible now

on the distant horizon, silent

and swift, a reminder, perhaps,

of a time of commerce and leisure,

the trade winds of another era,

another time, gone now, but

for a small instant, an instance

celebrated, relived in a collective memory

of time and yearning and pageantry,

the spirit of the sea uplifted.

Merida

Before Disney, there was no Merida, no fairy tale,

no myth, no folklore, just Scotland and its own legends,

monsters and unicorns, shapeshifters, the wee-folk, witches,

and the willow-o’-the wisps luring us off our course;

but there was a mother and a strong-willed daughter,

argumentative, vying for power, clashing

with tradition, desiring her independence.  And so,

Merida was born, dropped into Scotland, DunBroch,

refusing to marry the prince who would win her hand,

arrows shot, the best marksman winning, she besting

them all in this Disney tale of breaking with convention,

no prince to rescue her, for she must rescue herself, setting free

her mother, too – trapped inside herself – from the bear she had become:

 

a new princess, a modern princess, breaking the mold

set by Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty, rescued,

a modern woman, bravely, now, setting herself free.