Let My Verse Be Strong
let it contain the rugged ox and plow
driven across the centuries by man,
let it contain the earth and stars
bound like sisters, brothers,
lovers, and friends,
let it sprout like seeds
in ice-born fissures of rock,
let it be watched over by eagles
and devoured by ants and bees,
let it ride the currents of untamed rivers,
let it be hunted by natives
and seared on their night-time fires,
let it be healing and primitive,
let it be bashful, yet insane,
let it drive men and women
from their narrow, blind pursuits
in search of truth,
let it blossom in the desert
and fall as rain and whiten
the earth as snow,
this story I write and song I sing,
this harvest in my sturdy wagon,
this barn full of hay and grief and corn,
this prayer rising from life�s untended graves,
this song of courageous, desperate pioneers,
this well I dig and fruit I bear,
let it be foolish and wise,
delicate and austere,
let it navigate stormy seas of language
and change course at whim,
this hieroglyphic riddle I faithfully defend,
like strange new magic ushered in,
let it be as silent as a tree waiting for the wind.
May 6, 2005
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Also by William Michaelian
POETRY
Winter Poems
ISBN: 978-0-9796599-0-4
52 pages. Paper.
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Another Song I Know
ISBN: 978-0-9796599-1-1
80 pages. Paper.
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