Poetry Friday: Birthday Yoga

the northern lights
behind my eyelids
have something
to show me

my body sitting on heels
limp hands in lap
has something
to teach me

locks of hair and finger nail moons
tapping the floor
have something
to tell me:

I'm as impermanent as the
ice crystals on the patio chairs
on a november morning
and as marvelous as the frosty pattern
that created it
and I will wail like a child
when reminded of either

Burning

I build good fires,
Up to three a week in winter--
A man taught me.

My niece lost her first tooth today;
That makes her a person
and she can't go back.

While folded in half, I noticed
the ribbons in my feet--
I am crumpling from use.

I can't seem to pick an age
or a party or a God
And the logs shift and crack.

--LKP

love letter to my thighs

O dimply thighs,
we will be together forever
of this I am sure

In our years together
we have matured so much,
haven't we?

We know what does not serve us
(we broke up with mini-skirts
and never looked back)

We know who treats us right
(may we have endless supplies of black opaque tights
and sensible heels!)

Dimply thighs,
I am sorry if I ever hurt you
or tried to diminish your worth

You have done nothing but
worn your purple-silver stripes
with grace, even when I was unkind

Forgive me
I am done trying to change you
You live so lovely on my bones!

Let us go to art museums and
gaze upon our ancestors draped on velvet chairs
and hugging white columns

Ours in an old-fashioned love
we will not find such roots
in the magazines

Sometimes I see my daughter's thighs
in skinny jeans and its like looking back
at a photograph of us--so young!

Now I know we must set the example
of solidarity and acceptance
for the future generations, dear ones

'Til death do us part
may your fleshy beacons shine
and give comfort to those chilly in the night

(Disclaimer: These thighs have been photo-shopped)