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Many thanks to Aida Hayek for her wonderful pottery, Message in a Bottle, in tribute to my poem, Sunset. Please visit the entire Falmouth Public Library art tribute. Art begets art, after all.

Daily Toon Click to enlarge

Cartoons by Andertoons

Sparrows

Even sparrows know to fly
To take to wing
And find new sky
Open air, whatever tomorrow
May bring

Unseemly birds
Unlikely characters
In a tale about change
Courage taken
To embrace the unknown

With no expectation
With no glace behind
Nothing unusual
But the will to rise
And arrive
- Mary O. Fumento, 2008

Poet note:
Sparrows are common, ordinary, humble. They don’t do anything special. They are not all that smart or pretty.

Even non-birdwatchers know a sparrow is a “nothing” bird. Pay no attention. They are everywhere.

But even boring ole sparrows, by their very every day nature which encourages them to seek new horizons, are extraordinary. They don’t know much, but they know they can change.

And so they do.

And I love watching them decide when to stay and when to go.

Book With A Buckle

The cover was leather-bound
Holding the contents tight
The pages worn with worry
From many a restless night

When words were only comfort
And confidence held in hand
Paper an unjudging confessor
A passive friend to understand

That life is a complicated maze
Of choices, decisions, their toll
Of purpose, meaning, definition
Pages of a diary of written full

So very like the depths of heart
Not secrets so much concealed
As dreams, wants, and feelings
Carved into person, and revealed
- Mary O. Fumento, 2008

Agape

Tongue-tied
For how I stared,
Devouring you
With my eyes.

No words
Would have prevented
My invasive glance
And the terms it took.

Mind-tied
For all the love I felt.
Memorizing you left
My heart opened wide.
- Mary O. Fumento, 2008

Daydream

Upon the pure sky
The clouds pass by
And I lost in wonder
Compose my deep reply
- Mary O. Fumento, 2008

Butterfly Slumber

(for Khadija, who does love butterflies)

Smallest, quiet life
Legs instead of sky
But hearing a call to fly
A beckon to yet rise
To grow, change inside
Slowest peel of knife

So you do unfold
Emerging, tiny one
Into what you become
Extending fragile faith
Greatest sign of strength
Courage that can’t be told

Little worm is set to slumber
Trusting what sleep will give
Shrouded, encased alive
Shedding skin once worn
One chance to be reborn
Awake: winged world of wonder
- Mary O. Fumento, 2008

Delicacy

Indeed the finest pastry
Was right inside my hand
Amidst the fancy paper
Such delicacy to be had

But having would not do
For a luxury such as this
The magic of his texture
The alchemy of his kiss

His lips, most divine
Eyes into which I sank
The bounty of his beauty
A font from which I drank

Satisfied, over and over
In my eyes, lips, touch
Gentleness of his person
And I never felt so much
- Mary O. Fumento, 2008

Forgone

Like an amputee
The limb is gone
And it has been

But the rest of me
Still expects it to be
There where it was

I must catch up
To its absence
- Mary O. Fumento, 2008

Recklessly Irresponsible

It's because I cared
If not
I never would have tried

I would have shown
No effort
Reckless, but sure

So very much at stake
And then
Irresponsible, of course

The reverse continues
I care
And therefore I cannot

For so much matters
And I
Simply step aside
- Mary O. Fumento, 2008

Succulence

Succulence, a saucy matter
And anyone would agree;
Flavor is in spicing
Finding the right degree.

Mouths sometimes crave sour;
Tongues often want sweet.
Where tastes intertwine,
Palette and appetite meet.

What minds, fingers satisfy,
Only memorized recipe can call.
The brilliant measures taken,
That seasoned tastebuds recall.
- Mary O. Fumento, 2008