a thousand paper birds

Walking along a path at dusk,
birds sing quietly to one another,
turning a corner at my favorite oak
there is another sweet end-of-day melody…
What can they whisper that I do not know?

What invisible harmonies do the waves intone crashing against the cliffs
who can tell me, what does the rain chant early in the morning
is its prose different at sunset?
does Chinese thunder pair equitably with African lightning
is carnival more colorful in Rio than Venice
are the secrets of a rainbow known only to the poets
or do the Eskimos sing hymns of praise for the aurora borealis?

A thousand paper birds
multi-hued origami excellence
drift upwards, following in the wake
of the balloons from a children's birthday party
pure joy
they don't think, silly lesson to learn
we've forgotten to simply feel, asking questions first
uninvited complications tarnish simplicity

Can the only secret worth diamonds
be
that a yellow rose petal with dew
is more precious than a million carats of perfectly imitated color?
Life's ultimate joke
because we can no longer recall the essential pleasures…

a thousand paper birds
16 october, 2004 (just after midnight)

To be published in the 2007 edition of NavWork's Pride In Poetry Prize Anthology