TWO POEMS by Shaun O’Reilly

adorned in gold

dark liquid continents slowly converge on the mouth of the great Mississippi river
like 15th century conquerors finding the coasts of the Americas,
exploitation and greed drifting ashore.

but 1492 was columbus and oceans blue
2010 is black gold adorning life (in disguise) of the sea

and we’ve dressed them,
our brothers and sisters.
we’ve dressed them for the family portrait.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trichomes

The world is connected.
Though sometimes that seems like
a mislaid reverie,
I hold fast, still imagining.

No matter where I am,
however shut-away,
I can find one strand of green growth, and there
make contact with villous dendrites and trichomes,
the intricate hair-system of plant-life.

My fingers brush the tiny fibers and
in gentle fellowship acknowledge
that, despite our divorce,
we flower together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Window" by David Farris

Shaun O’Reilly lives and works in Reno, Nevada where he is an M.A. student in the Literature and Environment program at the University of Nevada, Reno. His interests include Thoreauvian studies, Bioregionalism, and creative writing.