SAN FRANCISCO POETS

Susan Birkeland Poetry

January 18, 1961 ~ Nov. 18 2006)

 

 


Triptych for Susan

1

A Song For Susie

Here is a circle Susie
Here is a ring
Keep shining in your silence
Keep the secret of your song
Keep it sacred now you're gone
The world's a flimsy garment
a new one you've put on
Here's a shadow for your shoe
Here's a halo for a hat
We all loved you and you left
left us at the altar
With no excuses or explanations
just instructions for the next
The pain you folded in your wings
Became a flaming bridge of dreams
Where are you going Susie
I'm going with you she said
Still the song
flowing from the source
stops us in our tracks
And when we turn around
How the season sheds its pale grief
to grow us rough shapes
of Susie's red poesy
All sunlight and promise
It's OK she said
It's OK
It's OK

.


2.

The Blessed Journey

I will wear white one day
wandering the wondrous way
with a song that cannot say
where my will ends
and the world begins

I have already put on my shoes
for that far journey
nothing fancy
or romancy
just me and my quirky shadow
doing this strange dance
all knowing and unknowing
sames and differences
the vast and ineffable mystery
of the Universe
expressed in the bloom
of a single rose
bound to decay
time's wise tooth

So may I go
without dismay
for though I am no stranger to sorrow
I see that which destroys my body
also liberates the soul
to receive the gift
destiny has prepared for us
with every step

O the beauty and tenderness of it
O the bliss and ordinariness
O but brings me love
a cup of frailty and fire
to taste the essence of life
in the all-consuming kiss
of a lover



3.

Meditation

Susie now I see
not a battle
but a birth
calling us to an estuary
of peace

The loon passing over it's image
no longer reflected by the water
gone beyond the proverbial
finger pointing to thee
Empress moon

O and lucky me
still dancing
under your soft glowing gaze
that sees everything now
knows the great mystery
gathers each
back to its bosom

O save us from our vanity
the myth of our separate existence
help us dispel the fear
with the courage you showed
born of love and understanding
the perfect wisdom
leaving everything
in ashes

Now I see you clearly Susie
find your name upon my lips
the very breath of life
beckoning the heart to follow

your soaring spirit
more than a shadow
it is the whole earth
turning to spring
as a lover turns
to embrace the dawn
the promised rain
bringing all
the blessings of heaven
without asking
why

©Jerry Ferraz