Ravensong Poetry And Writing Blog by Donovan Baldwin

By Donovan Baldwin

each small step chosen
with most intimate intent...
she dances to me

the dance part of her
in each movement and each look...
so naturally

these ancient movements
arising from within her...
from cave to condo

-----

ripened by nature
matured with age and knowledge
this loving woman

-----

poetry and wine
most arousing bedfellows...
for one or a pair

-----

So many blues
Looking over the bay,
As a storm moves in,
Sky and water,
Clouds and horizon
Its own mixture
Of moving steel
Separating
Ocean,
Earth, and
Heaven
From each other,
While part of all.

-----

i touch each old tree
recording remembering
boyhood manhood life

-----

gaze into my life
alone i array myself
in armor i need

-----

i hear the night wind
old friend come with messages...
your words as whispers

-----

performing artist
hands and lips deftly at work...
me her masterpiece

-----

i would tuck you in
whispering bedtime stories
softly in the dark

-----

begins with a look
then her touches and kisses...
arousal begins

-----
Poetry copyright 2020 by Donovan Baldwin
Art: Painting, Seductive Dance by Louis Icart

Labels: dance, donovan baldwin, haiku, my life, night wind, old trees, performing artist, poems, poetry, storm, the bay, wine

By: Donovan Baldwin

When rain falls,
Wind blows,
Thunder and lightning
Split the sky,
I come alive,
Enter the clouds,
Ride the wind,
Thunder shakes my soul,
Lightning brands my heart,
I soar,
I sail,
Aloft above this earth,
No longer bound
By time,
Ageless,
Free as an eagle, wolf,
Within my storm.

January 26, 2019

Labels: donovan baldwin, lightning, poem, poet, poetry, rain, ride the wind, storm, thunder

The Storm - a poem by Donovan Baldwin


The storm blew up as the Sun went down,
Tossing the ship like a toy,
Aloft, a sailor, in fear looked round,
Face ashen, he was only a boy.

"Captain! Captain! How can I survive,
While this gale is blowing so strong?
Will the Sun at dawn still find me alive,
Or beneath this sea and gone?"

"We depend on you, lad, to do the task,
The sails must not rip away.
I know it is much that we must ask",
He heard his Captain say.

The Captain and mates strove all the night,
To save the ship and its crew.
When the Sun began its daily flight,
In a moment, the Captain knew...

The lad had lost his chance to live,
But had done his task to the end.
There's not more the brave can give,
Than their life for their fellow men.

Labels: donovan baldwin, duty, poem, poetry, sailor, ship, storm

By: Donovan Baldwin

Kids do stupid things.

Okay, maybe not so much stupid, as out of ignorance of consequences.

The recent hurricanes reminded me of some of the dumb things I did in Florida as a boy. Not just hurricanes, but, when other storms blew in, my friend and I would go swimming in Pensacola Bay.

I don't know what the attraction was, unless it was that moment in a storm, or just before, when the water is flat, unmoving, dull gray like lead, not quite shining like mercury, surreal, framed above by storm clouds.

I sensed something when I saw that. An odd feeling of something strangely different from the day to day experiences of water and life. The bay was usually blue or blue-green and moving, constantly moving. Before the storm it got flat and still.

Somehow that spoke to me of some awesome power that could make water, that water, be still, especially from some unknown distance.

My friend and I would climb slender trees, and hang on, riding them in the wind, swinging our weight in rhythm with the wind, at least having sense enough to head for home before that wind got too strong for mortal boys.

We didn't experience the powerful hurricanes you read about recently, but, still, wind and storm enough to strike fear and create havoc.

We were too young and, well, ignorant, to realize the forces we were toying with. Yet, wouldn't trade a moment of it.

Strong forces, plus a hint of danger, a dash of adventure, plus lots of ignorance equals some grand memories. Had a pretty good boyhood.

Don't know how I, or my parents, survived it.

Labels: boyhood, climbing trees, donovan baldwin, hurricane, Pensacola Bay, storm, wind

By: Donovan Baldwin

We worry a lot about big things, but, for most of us, life is really comprised of small stuff.

Big rain storm while driving home last night I'm in Texas, and can see a long way. I was over near Dallas, when I headed west towards Fort Worth. I could see the huge bank of clouds, and I could see the rain in the distance.

It was a big storm, but, it didn't bother me...until I drove into it.

Then, that small area of the storm became my world.

Suddenly, I wasn't concerned about what was happening in the rest of Tarrant county, or in Parker county to the west of me, where the storm was coming from. Tons of water falling in blinding sheets, and other drivers. That was MY world, and my worry.

Meanwhile, in another part of the world, somebody's dying, somebody's being born, somebody's preparing for a hurricane, somebody's sunning themselves on a beach.

MY world is not always THE world.

In fact, I believe THAT world, THE world, is too big for us to deal with or exercise control over always.

Last night in the rain, I had to drive safely to keep myself, and others safe.

"Thank you." to other drivers who did the same, by the way.

Sometimes, that's the best we can do...look out for each other. If you can't fix everything else, do the best you can where you're at.

May not be much but, it helps.

Labels: donovan baldwin, life lesson, rain, rainstorm, storm, Tarrant county, texas, world