Steven Federle Poems

In this emergent tunnel’s arch,
I waver in darkness, I fear
this pathway of promise, this clear
light of bright day, this warm, green park,
...

I entered the silent house
and saw my sister in the kitchen,
brooding over tepid dishwater, sipping beer,
slipping away from her pain,
...

Our apple tree is exuberant tonight,
its white blossoms flare within emerald shades
of our big cottonwoods,
...

Bright leaves, tongues of flame
holding slender twigs; those thin pillars
resisting seductive breath of breeze,
binding the tender leaves to more substantial limbs
...

Out of the hard blue it comes
throbbing, powerful, flinging dust and small stones,
as it clears the swaying tops of neighboring redwoods,
and gives the empty, clear, and calm air
...

You visited me near dawn -

I saw you
and felt your joy
...

Intervention given
responses finally heard
doubts all forgiven
sickness finally cured.
...

Across the fading valley
The silver bay shines,
effulgent edge
under twilight hills.
...

but gazing into bright desert space
we see endless highways, distant
mountains we never reach,
sharp hills, steep cliffs
...

The pale sun, gliding low,
refuses to rise into leaden
grey skies, so bleak night
inters our sinful souls.
...