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Worldliness

Worldliness

A poem by Leah Shelleda

Two worlds
in one we’re late
rushing down freeways
in the other a flock
of flagrant crows
flies over
in one
a full parking lot
shoppers honking
like geese
to get in
in the other
at the far end of the pavement
a dozen butterflies
work the blossoms
on a flowered hedge

The third world
is the site of dreams
where I heard
“you don’t have to dig
in the dark
any more
you’re done”

So I’m ready to explore the fourth world
where spirit spins cosmic webs
rings of planets
ring-around-the-atom
eternal patterns
that appeared
seconds
after
it all began

Copyright 2006 by Leah Shelleda

Leah Shelleda Leah writes:
When I saw those butterflies in the parking lot, the first line of "Worldliness" came to me. Then more followed. I was in a hurry and struggled to hold on to the words while I was in the supermarket. I finally stopped in the cereal aisle to write them down, realized I didn’t have my notebook with me, and wrote the first half of the poem on the back of the shopping list.

For many years, Leah Shelleda taught Humanities and Philosophy at the College of Marin in Northern California. Now she has the pleasure of spending her time weaving words, textiles and working in the garden. Leah’s poems have appeared in Commonweal, Connecticut Poetry Review, and the Bellingham Review among other publications. Leah can be reached via email at: shelleah@comcast.net.

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