Shadows in the Garden

by Neeli Cherkovski

Shadows in the garden
Increase not lot,
Danger lurks, ribbons
Flow down
From under my cerebral
Field, a stone
Buddha manufactured
In Minnesota bemused
The tall bamboo, be of
One mindful rap
On doors and
Windows, on memory
Loss and
A chain of command,
Oh brave seabirds
And double
Windows, on lock and
Key
oh father
Deliver me one more time
To uncertain
Daylight, design a sun
For late
Afternoon
May the ribboned air
Bring tranquility to
The forms, may
A handsome set
Of trees speak for
The broad Swan song
Of our lives