2 More WFOP Poems

A few more selections from the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets Poet’s Calendar.

Lake Michigan in November
By Hanne Gault

Mammoth waves rise
like frothy walls
inky green against the sky.
Clouds race past
as if they have appointments to keep.
Must be a storm on the way,
a rap on the knuckles
for our languid summer days.

The Monarch Flight
By Sarah Taylor

Late September
the Jersey shore
a light wind from the northeast.
I stand in the rustic shelter
holding fast between thumb and finger
parchment wings, feather-light
licorice and gold
a monarch butterfly
No. 13,251
measured, weighed, banded
poised for departure.
Behind us, beach plums, cedars, breasts of dunes
pulsing tapestries of black and gold
a roosting galaxy of wings
waiting for a southern breeze
the siren call to warmth and sun
new milkweed pods to dance upon.
The south wind stirs,
I move my thumb,
a moment’s brush and he is gone
lifting fast on tiger wings
he joins the restless, rising cloud
a gossamer flotilla wheeling high
passports in order
compass set
all jets firing
ancestral wisdom strapped in place
destination, Mexico
traveling light
heading south.