there's an illumination
only
the sun
can give...
the sky
heavy with layers
of  smokey ruffles
splits in two
and casts
a house shadow

charcoal tree trunks
startle
back against
bright green feilds
some grip their leaves tightly
tenaciously
those steady
strong ones
who thrive
in adversity.

others
stripped bare
lose their will early on
no protest
no struggle
simple
submission
to the gray god
Winter Gloom

the remaining
pace themselves,
holding back
to savor last moments
as they pause to linger
with  parting crown of glory
the incomparable gift Ablaze
nature has chosen for them

I'd like to be
like these
not one to surrender
easily
yet knows to give in
graciously
the kind that knows
when
and how
o go
in the magnificent departure
of autumnal glow.

 ©1996 LL DeMerlé

was that a snowflake?
my heart lept in fear
my eyes stood vigil
at the scene of the crime
a  list of the undone
scrolled between my ears
and I waited
for the next one...

...a leaf!

 ©1996 LL DeMerlé

Autumn's Persuasion

little gold
medallions shimmer
as the breeze
rustles through them
magically suspended

one
   by
      one
   in
a
  slow
       flutter
each
       meanders
         bits
        of
    golden
glitter
         drift
  `til
gentle
   touch
             down...

time pauses for a moment
the richness of the season
is suddenly upon me
to lift out of day's
dreariness
and toss me
into the air
giddy
to be caught
again
by my mother
nature

LL DeMerlé © 1996

Overgrown
overgreen
early summer
holds me captive
Intoxicating
and persuasive
is the fresh mown grass
the hum of a mower
sets expectations on high

What was bare
and waste
out my window
threatens to overtake me
in my garden
I await that
joyfully
I surrender
to the green

Through the skylight
my sun room is now shaded
through my window
the pattern of lace on royal blue sky
looks lavender

It's all new
and heady this time
enhanced by you
who are not my first love
but are my first love

LL DeMerlé

    "To know a person
     hear what they say but
     see what they do.
     The doing
     shows the intentions
     of the heart."

                 LL DeMerlé

There are
two kinds of people.

The thoughtless ones
 who
   hold their mouths open
     for all manner of nonsense
       and inconsideration to escape.
   Some are innocent            Excuse them

The other is

Deliberate
Some
 are deliberately destructive,
   steered by anger
 and jealousy
that delight in desecration of
 unguarded hope
They are the violators          Elude them

Other deliberates
    fix their intents
not on dismissing
not on dominating
but
 on hearing
They are the healers            Dance with them

500 people drowned
   in Lake Victoria today

500 people perished
   30 miles northwest of Mwanza

I know that lake, where on one shore
   the mosquitos carry malaria
   that the local people are immune to.
Only visitors fall ill
 A  lake where ferries are rickety,
   overcrowded death vessels

500 living, breathing human beings
Men who loved women
Women who loved children
Children, bewildered by parents
     who couldn't make it better.
All in terror
Mercilessly went down
Without consent they gave up their spirits
Lives sacrificed
   on the altar of mammon
   by the owners of the death vessel
   and a rock unnavigated

Passing ships rescued only 40
Passing ships recovered only 21

No more
were expected to be found.
No more
will be looked for,
is what they meant.
Tanzania Railways Corp.
has  closed the book.
They received their fares

Whom of us will mourn?

LL DeMerle'
Copyright 1996
Illya's Honey
Summer 1996