JOHN MARA - POEMS

​Lakeside Forever

John Mara writes fiction beside a serene New Hampshire lake. His wife Holly provides creative input, and they often attract mortified glances in restaurants while discussing dastardly characters and plot structure. A multi-genre writer, John tends to converse in the genre he’s thinking about and makes better dinner company when it’s humor, not horror.
Besides Scarlet Leaf Review, John’s short stories are published in Liquid Imagination, J.J. Outre Review, Youth Imagination, and other venues.

​The winter ice melts so be-grudg-ing-ly,
And nature yearns to spring alive.
Time to ride the seasons’ circle again –
Time to take that near but far-away drive!
The seasons will come, the seasons will go,
From the first bud we see, to the last flake of snow.
Life is a cycle, and if you just ride it clever,
You’ll loop round and round, and ride it forever.
 
The snow retreats to nourish the soil,
And wake up the buds once more.
The baby sparrows will sing again soon,
And ring in a new turn to explore.
Prepare to orbit life’s circle,
Choose a clear path to pursue:
Ride it ‘round with someone who sees –
One and one make so much more than two.
 
Smell the first flowers, see them bloom,
As the butterfly flutters near.
The warm sun lifts our wings too –
Feel your spirit soar with a glorious new year.
But see the people, they too dash by,
As they whirl with presumed alacrity.
Let your pulse slow down here,
And never feel so calm, never be so free.
 
The heron, the eagle, the crazy loon too:
Depend on them every spring,
To climb majestic across the water,
And brighten each journey with the joy they bring.
If you embrace nature’s circuit,
You can make it come true –
The birds and buds will always soar high,
And if you learn how, so can you.
 
See the clouds glide across the summer sky:
One changes shape, and then here comes another.
String them together and read the tale they tell –
The seasons’ patterns you will surely discover.
‘Cause the circle will morph like the shapes up above,
It spirals into forms that are new.
Make a simple life here in your own private world,
To master life’s ellipses, so they don’t confound you.
 
Watch the leaves turn vibrant colors,
Behold their dance with the light.
When fall proclaims a celebration,
Join each leaf’s triumphant flight.
As the cool wind chills the lake,
When time’s wheel seems to slow,
Pause the carousel and clink a toast
To all of life’s secrets you’ve come to know.
 
Hear the ice crack, feel the echoes boom –
The frigid gust bites into you.
Let the sleet and snow pile on high,
It’s just nature’s way to renew.
When the harsh wind ripples the waters,
And a fog in your cove settles in,
Adapt to life’s foibles and trials:
They’re a part of the wheel’s mysterious spin.
                                       
When at last you grasp every pebble,
And all the pebbles in turn discern you,
The bond can never be broken,
‘Cause neither would know what to do.
There comes a single moment,
At a time, with a person, in a place,
When each stands essential to you,
And you’re essential to their space.
 
So the seasons go on for a lifetime,
The loops around always renew.
I long to glide round this circle forever –
To know the birds, bees and buds …
      … and to feel the essence of you.
 
 
 

Leave Tomorrow Behind

​I’ve been quite distant lately
Been very far away
I sure missed you greatly
So I came home to you, Today
 
Went to find from where I came
To travel in my past
To find the worth in every name
To root myself at last
 
Then walked into the future
To see where I might go
I felt like an intruder
It’s not for me to know
 
Now yesterday’s in front of me
And tomorrow’s left behind
I can live today completely
With a settled sense of time