Baklava
 
River Run
 
Perfect Pen
 
Red Ride
 
Raven Heart
 
That Wild Thing
 
Tsunami
 
August 4th
 
Urban Spring
 
Yellow Canyons
 
Edge of the World
 
Silver Weaver
 
Grace
 

 
Beyond Badges and Barbed Wire 

Beyond badges and barbed wire
security guards and double doors,
we sit on green mats inside and breathe.
Tattoos spill down their forearms
onto palms planted in downward dog.
Blue dragons circle ankles.
Demons nip at heels.

On slippery sticky mats we stand,
warriors, wings outstretched
feet spread wide. The tallest one
has thirty more to go inside,
cell too small for his broad shoulders,
blue arms to reach to sky.

Out past these doors I’m shackled
to my lists, to my clock. I scurry
from this to that, hoping for a break,
wondering if I’m late, am I making
someone wait?

Back inside, in warrior two, their man
strong legs begin to quiver. This was harder
than we thought.

We sit, inhale and exhale together
breathe our way to momentary freedom.


 

 Diane Sherman