Editor’s Note: These 2 poems by Lara Gularte speak of the transitory nature of the seasons and of life and loss in general, accompanied by two of her equally sensitive photos of birds. For this viewer they take on an iconic and almost monumental stance–as if somehow we are seeing the Mother Goddess in her natural setting. And perhaps we are since that is the nature of Nature. Enjoy!
————
TO FIND THE OPENING
“Waterfowl 1” photo by Lara Gularte, copyright 2016
When summer enters fall,
birds slip in and out
to make the portal wider.
How quickly people in her world
come and go,
each loss feathers into her next.
Her aching shoulders,
turning into herself,
arms against chest.
Like sky entering geese,
as they rise out of dark waters,
she wishes to be lifted,
her bones hollow for flight.
In an interstice of her mind
she’s a wing rising.
by Lara Gularte, copyright 2016
.
First published by The Bitter Oleander
.
SANDHILL CRANES AT LUNDGREN’S RICE FARM
Long gray arcs break through
wet branches of trees.
The slapping of wings
take the afternoon by surprise.
“Waterfowl 4” photo by Lara Gularte, copyright 2016
Ancient spirits, they circle
and glide in thin lines.
Only the wind can break them.
Old memories resurrected
by their loud, trumpeting call,
an antique grief of lost days.
Behind them wetlands grow vague.
Suddenly they slip
beyond this world.
by Lara Gularte, copyright 2016
.
First published by Windfall, A Journal of Poetry of Place.
Bio: Lara Gularte was featured with an interview and 18 poems in the Autumn 2014 issue of The Bitter Oleander. Her poetic work depicting her Azorean heritage is included in a book of essays called “Imaginários Luso-Americanos e Açorianos” by Vamberto Freitas. Her work can be found in The Gávea-Brown Book of Portuguese-American Poetry. Her poems have appeared in such journals as The Bitter Oleander, California Quarterly, The Clackamas Review, Evansville Review, Permafrost, The Monserrat Review, The Water-Stone Review, The Fourth River, The Santa Clara Review, and she has been published by many national and regional anthologies. Her manuscript “Kissing the Bee,” will be published by The Bitter Oleander Press in 2017. She is an assistant editor for Narrative Magazine.
Categories: photo by Lara Gularte, poem by Lara Gularte
Eos: The Creative Context 
Leave a Reply