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Imagery

The images are as splendid as we allow ourselves to see.

Winter Sky at Evening Time

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

Badlands

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

Speckles 

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 

Cherry Blossoms Adrift

Pink petals passing
Scents above so high
Painted porcelain perfection
Blossoms caress the sky

Swaying silent shroud
Suitors strolling by
Pink petals passing
Lover's gentle sigh

Pastel hues falling
Slow fluttering grace
Pink petals passing
Lining streams in lace

Pink petals passing
Smoothest transit by
Soft essence floating
In most subtle lullaby

Inducing springtime slumber
Upon a satin shore
Sailing with the current
Pink petals pass before
- Mary O. Fumento, 1999

Night Watch

Frozen jaws snap at timeless air
And concrete eyes stare at passers-by
Claws deeply imbedded, sadly not in flesh
As you crouch forever ready to pounce

Fountains of water spew forth clutching nothing
And fall to the littered streets below
Your shaggy mane flows from ancient stone
And waves motionless in the wind

Your presence is an anachronistic monument
A forgotten testament to superstition and fear
Your usefulness never intended or conferred
Yet you maintain importance in simply existing

Rooftops stand empty in your absence
Decoration alone you somehow are not
Instead you are as integral as the foundation
Which weathers the years and upholds aging walls
- Mary O. Fumento, 1989

Carousel

No popcorn is on the ground
Birds have stolen it all away
But I don't know why
I even noticed it missing
Anyway

A forgotten sign faded and decrepit
Leans against a rusty pole
"Pony ride - 50 cen - "
A victim of many angry storms
Perhaps

The grass is still dead and flat
Where the bandstand once stood
Yet the banners have all fallen down
Over the fancy frozen ponies that dance as
(When we were here)
Before
- Mary O. Fumento, 1988

The Sorcerer

Batches of colors explode
Tiny, bearded men scamper
While wicked beasts howl
Crystal walls gleam and shimmer
Flashes fall from a midnight sky
Metals fold like liquid
Flower to stone to lizard to leaf
Dozens of faceless, nameless cards
Sometimes a silky kerchief
And an occasional downy dove
Retreating adversaries with wary eyes
Always a cynic, sour skeptic
Wanting but not daring to believe
Ivory towers and ivy walls
Complete with princess calling
Knights and steeds and armour
A world of black and white
(His own somewhere in between)
Soulful serenades and ballads
Knights, courts and commands
A beautiful, endless time
Which never quite began

Awestruck in ancient revelries
The old man could not decide
Who had become more the believer
In his illusions and charades

His audience or himself
- Mary O. Fumento, 1981

Crystal Cascades

Delicately designed in snow
Fading away at my touch
Leaving only a glistening drop
And its memory
- Mary O. Fumento, 1984

Age of Innocence

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.

Jewel of the Forest (The Coronation)

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

Autumn Change

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

Elegance

Sunset

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

Reflections

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

Nighttime

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

Song of Autumn

Autumn's change, brings out the range
Of colors bright and bold
Tints of brown fall to the ground
With sprinkles of red and gold
Crisp, cool air, sky blue and fair
The song of autumn is told
The days flow, the north wind knows
Winter's coming - it's getting cold
- Mary O. Fumento, 1984

Winter Whispers

The wind whispers when it is cold
Trees are white and windows frosted
A hush covers all
Peaceful, silent
Winter whispers as snowflakes drift
- Mary O. Fumento, 1984

Aspens on the Wind

The Highway

Desolate, cracked concrete
Asphalt leading nowhere
Shiny signs of direction
Attracting no one
Except for a faraway car
Resembling a dark tumbleweed
Blowing aimlessly
Pretending to go somewhere

A silent black serpent
Amongst these dry, barren fields
Which only watch and recount
The empty, pointless seasons
Without a change
Even the bright billboards
Have faded out
And peeled softly down
- Mary O. Fumento, 1988

Chits

The things we pass along
The things we never keep
To us will forever belong
As they touch us ever deep

Those places we will recall
By sight and smell somehow
Into those memories we fall
Transposing the past to now

Because it is all the same
You cared then, you still do
There is no one left to blame
The only one you could be was you
- Mary O. Fumento, 2007

Polar Opposites

The very sky is falling down upon me,
I've not seen a more beautiful sight.
The petals of snow drape down slowly,
Lingering, illuminating dark night.

For the blossoms of snow renew me
And in the darkness light my way
The very essence of sky upon me
Dawn brings blessed beauty: day.
- Mary O. Fumento, 2007

Ice Petals on Window Pane

Ice petals on window pane
Sing your name today
I hear the soft lyrics
Hum along in internal way

You are there; I feel you
Ever present as the sky
Changing how you express
I know not how but why

You cover my every move
A gentle sheath, like breath
Barely there, yet everywhere
Protecting me to every depth
- Mary O. Fumento, 2007

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