Mary Fumento

Crystalized trees etched upon the sky
Gently painted with pastel colors
A hue of pink, a touch of blue
Surrounded by the softest purple
The winter sky at evening time
Reflects confidence in the dawn
The return of light, return of warmth
Spring but a whisper just behind
- Mary O. Fumento, 2012

Nighttime falls in the city
Lights blink on everywhere
Yet the streets are full and busy
As excitement fills the air

Nighttime falls in the country
Beasts settle down to rest
Farmer with eggs of plenty
The climate is at its best

Nighttime falls in the mountains
Wind in trees dark and tall
A river’s foamy fountains
An ancient owl mourns for all
- Mary O. Fumento, 1981

Into the crystal pool I gazed to see
The fleeting glimpse of a white-tailed deer
So pure, so free
Beneath a sapphire sky with clouds
She emerges from a wooded glen
So cautious and delicate
With tiny fawn beside and cowering
While towering pines trembled and swayed
As if almost knowing
And a bold hawk perches and spies
A shimmering silver trout leaps
Graceful and splendid
His dive breaking my gaze into the water
And I glace again to see
Myself
- Mary O. Fumento, 1984

The fire in the sky is dying
The mountains are tall and dark
The spirit of the day is flying
Sunset leaves its mark
The colors up on high are lovely
The air is clear and cool
An ending approaches mildly
Day and night begin a duel
But the light must give way sometime
And who will win, I’ll bet
Is dark, mysterious nighttime
As day gives way to sunset
- Mary O. Fumento, 1981

A ballet dancer is a swan
Without the beak or feathers
A ballet dancer is the seasons
Without a change in weather
A ballet dancer is a portrait
With a difference to this art
The picture captures feeling
The dancer embraces heart
- Mary O. Fumento, 1981

Crowned with ruby red
Subtleties in gray and green
Opal eyes glistening
With inner illuminance
Fast and free you fly

Racing towards the sun
Flitting flower to flower
Caretaker of a divine garden
Sweetly humming to yourself
A mere child at play

Shiny raindrops become pearls
Against your downy glory
Speeding towards ivory clouds
Deep in a sapphire sky
Diving into floral rainbows
- Mary O. Fumento, 1984

A child’s eyes view the potential of the world
Mankind appears as it should be
And not as it really is
Yesterday is gone
And today is forever
Tomorrow will always be
An unfathomable promise Wonder and awe in a leaf
And in each blade of grass
Clean sheets and falling rain
Are personal luxuries
Squiggly worms, such a treat
Hidden in fresh, dark dirt
Drivelets of dew trickle
Down a cloudy pane

Treasures are timeless amusements
- Mary O. Fumento, 1986

And the words come out of nowhere and camouflage themselves in everything I do, following no pattern, no semblance, no order — they do what they may, they do what they must with no regard to me, their creator who can only stand back helplessly in awe and gape at this strange creature who resides inside of me.

The autumn change
Brings out the range
Of colors bright and bold
A dying flicker of shiny gold
Before the hue is dead
Out springs Indian red
A scarlet so serene
Overcome by olive green
When the molten colors turn over
The time is now October
Orange speckles to the ground
With traces of hickory brown
Colors so simple yet also strange
Reflect the mystery of the season’s change
- Mary O. Fumento, 1981

Chasm and canyon
Carved into the land
Epic face of time
A space of creation
And slow change
Formation of rock
Rivers cutting through
Indentations
Swelling of earth
Gentle, rolling slopes
Gaping, edged depression
Opening new worlds
- Mary O. Fumento, 2010

The ground pokes through
The snow, defiantly
Dark spots of brown
And some frozen green
Just small reminders
That winter won’t last
Spring’s barely distant
But for this crusty cover
A white mantle so still
It’s only here briefly
Arriving just in time
To stay a bit and leave
- Mary O. Fumento, 2010