Ode to a Savvy Sage

With a sudden gust of whimsy
She flings poetic paint
Against a mental canvas taut with expectation--
Prefigured for something other

SPLASH!

Flat expectations behind glazed eyes
Suddenly whirl
Through unanticipated universes of color
Transcending preconceived possibilities
Profoundly framing new dimensions.

(Cherice Montgomery, November 27, 2001)

The Gap

To a child
Sprinkled exposure
Seems infinite, complete

Yet at the piece
So "large"--so small!
An adult chuckles silently

'Tis nothing more
Than crumbs to him
Having from larger tables supped

Yet for the child,
So innocent,
A crumb's more than enough!

(Cherice Montgomery, Fall 1989)

Time for Apple Cider

A soul full of cider
wanders,
thoughtfully sipping
a solitary, wind-swept hill
crunching colors,
then drinking deeply.

The apple-red happiness burns,
igniting cheeks
now stuffed
with majestic vistas.

Crumbs of shared smiles
cling,
like cinnamon-sugar,
and jack-o-lantern grins
expose
the tiny, flicker of flame within
that yearns,
burns,
longs to see itself
in trusted eyes
leap joyful
again,
and again,
and again.

It is, indeed, time for apple cider.

(Cherice Montgomery, October 5, 2003)