Author: Gypsie-Ami Offenbacher-Ferris

When I die
may butterfly wings
whisk me away
on a whisper of wind

May they find me
among my flowers
a spade in my hand
and a smile on my face

I wish that sadness
not permeate the joy
and beauty of nature
I was blessed to find here

Allow me to rest beneath
the hallowed ground of
Mother Earth herself
until the very end of time

That I may give back
all that she has given me
And so when I die may
they find me in my Garden

Days filled
with waiting
Nights hold only
dread

Weeks slip into eternity
Months flip by
with waning
curiosity

Time heals all things
distance provides
Gratuitous bouts of
indifference

I remain unhealed
in time and all things
Indifference breeds
non-sustainability

Emerge night
bearing my heart
a steep climb
with flashes of sanity

On the verge
hanging over the bow
depths of despair
life a mystery – misery

When dreams clash
and a grain of reality slides between the bond forged within you
What then?

There you are as you are
on the other side of the world
adventure and intrigue

Doing what you do day to day
and night after night while
I am at home tucked in tight

Here I am and here I stay
on my side of the world
much too far away

Pursuing my dreams
reading and writing
and blogging with friends

Wondering if you think of me
on the wind when the moon’s emerged
and a breeze blows in off the ocean

I think of you – eyes to the stars
watching Venus and Mars
chase old Sol back into the sea

I think of you sailing away
as the man in the moon
comes out to play

I think of you – always

When too much is not enough
when not enough is too much
As distance separates us
as separation distances us

A life without is lonely and alone
a lonely and alone life is without
A home barren of love is
a love at home left barren

Darkness without light suffocates
darkness lit by brightness breathes
Days turn into weeks to empty months
days emptied into longevity turn dark

The teapot boiling into a tempest
the tempest melting the teapot
Chaos confined breeds creativity
chaos unconfined creates chaos

When is too much not enough
when is not enough too much –

Sweet little Honeycup
how graceful you arch
your lovely red stems
Your waxy leaves
so colorful
in Fall and Winter too

A rare and special shrub
are you when flowers
dispel with their
scent of anise
A beautiful plant
you continue to be

Your name taken
from one even lovelier
than you
She wore you always
in her hair so named
she was Queen Zenobia

Tricky and prolific
spreading into artful mounds
Your colors are so varied
more than this small poem
could hope to carry

When first we met
your brilliance shown
bright white and effervescent
Then next to you a cousin or two
shone out in yellow pearl-essence

Around the corner stacked high
and low pink, purple and red
could everywhere be seen
Too many to even try to choose
in fact there were even some green

It came to past that I could
only choose one Yarrow plant
to take home that day
Instead I picked a pack of seeds
went through the line and paid

(Bear Grass, Indian Basket Grass)

Long spiky green leaves
woven into baskets
years past to carry necessities
by the Tribes
of the great western prairies

Among the craggy cliffs
of the Rockies
you grow so tall
within the coniferous woods
where you remain petite and small

Sacred Mother Bears
pad their winter den’s
for comfort and scent
during a long seasons frost
where her tiny cubs will be dossed

In the Spring
when new birds sing
and children run and play
then scrapes occur or a twisted knee
the roots are used from me

Boiled down to a creamy
compound and applied when
swelling is found
no longer will the pain abide
children go play seek and hide

Should this flower
be sown into your garden soil
and years go by ‘til bloom
beware when animals roam near
it’s a favorite of elk and deer!

Rarest of them all
beauty unsurpassed
disappearing from sight
man’s consuming plight

Fly away beauty
to a land far beyond
to lush tropical forests
no damaging fleet of tourists

White Heron of times long past
hold tight with the knowledge
though few you are today
help is truly on the way

Note: The White Heron Orchid is indigenous to China, Japan, Korea and Russia. Due to deforestation, it is now on the Endangered Species Register.