PHILIP DODD

Philip dodd

GREEN OWL

Green owl I have never seen

for such a bird has never been,

listen yet to my true word,

a bunch of leaves on a tree

shifted to form an owl

with eyes and feathers green,

so wild in my garden tame,

watched through my window,

soft, low, I heard it hoot your name.

To maps of lands that never were,

that never could be,

to other worlds, strange kingdoms

green owl clutched the key,

will remain the lure

to reach your longed for shore.

CATHEDRAL

A ship slips from harbour

with no captain or crew on board.

It seems in dreams,

the heart has no shelter,

the soul cannot be shored.

A church stands with no bell,

its priest wears white but serves no lord.

It seems in dreams

no reason is given,

conclusions are obscured.

Wind wake, spirit stir.

Cathedral builds in the air,

I think of it and I am there.

In the nave, I light a candle,

my mind on your name,

my prayer flickers with the flame.

Stone angel blows his horn

above the balcony,

clear as the organ pipes,

seems to say to me:

We know there are hearts to heal,

there are souls to save.

The sea is deep and wide,

but we watch every wave.

Later, I leave the cathedral.

Behind me, the candle I lit for you,

unmelted, glows in the nave.

LAST FLOCKS OF THE GEESE

We are late, late in our going,

the last flocks of the geese

seem to say in the sky,

but maybe we will be

early in our returning,

they call as they fly away,

leaving us with the crow and the sparrow,

the robin to sit on

the cold, bare branches of winter,

and we forget about the geese,

until we hear them returning in spring,

would that I were a bird

first learning to sing.

Philip Dodd