Pass us by

We have our swifts & martins here, of course,
And they stretch our skies all summer,

But on September days like this: blue skies, a southerly wind, and fluffy clouds
We hear them: someone else’s swallows pass us by.

And what is poignant, beautiful? They take a break
And buzz our houses, playgrounds, parks, and gardens:

A flock of fifty stops to feed, and suddenly our space is full
Of chew-it calls, sky-acrobats; and, always, a few males singing.

So, unlike other birds that only sing at home, our swallows
Leave a trail: songs of leaving, songs of arriving, from their barns

Along their way to southern Africa: spread out and spun,
A Day at a time; our thread of home, traced by our passers-by.

-Dave Garbutt

lost in chaos

life walks in on a bed of nails
and runs its’ fingers through my sails
and often like the night’s caress
with sharpened claws it does possess

and from the corner of my eye
i catch a glimpse of clear blue sky
and silhouetted by the sun
a distant shadow on the run

and when i feel the moment slide
i reach inside for what i hide
and taking off my glasses rose
i watch my shadow as it grows

between my eyes, before my time
so overwhelming in its crime
across the borders of my skin
stealing my past and what i’ve been

to feel my life and touch my light
future, past, and second sight
and doing so, leaves just a trace
across my eyes, and on my face

then from the corner of your eye
you think you see me wave good-bye
but when you’re sleepy eyes awake
i am the bird that you mistake

and as i spread my wings to fly
i shed this skin without a cry
and then, without a backward glance
i leave this for another dance

-Derek Dahl

Bios And Links

-David Garbutt

is retired and living in Dornach, Switzerland.

He is a fan of photography, writing, and snowboarding.

He is also interested in outdoors and birding.

-Derek Dahl

hails from the pacific northwest and is currently finalizing his first book, “Souls Fluorescent”, a mixture of poetry and digital art. He first discovered computers in the 1980’s and has been pounding away at the keyboard ever since. He enjoys twisting words into rhyme and meter puzzles. His art is heavily influenced by Picasso and Escher along with a smattering of Mayan culture and is called Cubic Fusion, where the background lines become the foreground lines and back again, just like all of life is intertwined. His next books include one of art and one of flash fiction.

www.soulsfluorescent.com derek@soulsfluorescent.com