Beginning In Splendor

Mist drapes and dawn rises

towards the beckoning day.

While standing still

you can see Aurora rise

to greet you capped

by a veil of sun.

The clouds seem alive

softened by a yellow haze

and the muse whispers softly

in the early morn.

I hold out my hand

in the fog

wishing for a spectrum

of color to appear.

Her finger visits

to brighten the sky

and all I can do

is wonder at her brilliance.

Sharon Rothenfluch Cooper

(c) October 2000

Published:  Sound and Silence Magazine, Oct. 2002

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Divinity And Dragonflies

Goddess of mountain

meadow and stream,

maiden, chrysalis

of woman, nymph

of dragonflies and buttercups,

I am Naiad, spirit of the glade

who dares to dance

with moonbeams,

tastes the elixir of springs

hidden in this mossy grotto.

Release your impulses

and idle awhile with me

by misty waterfall

in this springy tufted glen.

Wile away mortal time

amid the wild sarsaparilla.

Sharon Rothenfluch Cooper

(c) July 2001

Published:  Panda Poetry Magazine, Oct. 2001, issue #5

Published:  Tamafyhr Mountain Poetry, July 2003, issue #19

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Escape To Freedom

Hull that leaks, an escape to freedom

no guarantee.  On the open sea

strife and hunger

fight a duel over lives.

The specter of death hovers

and haunts the morning light,

rides the unstable craft for loss

or liberty, a flip of the coin.

Revenge and reprisal, all that

is left behind.  Torture, prison,

forfeiture of life,

no option for staying.

A future looms

brightly across the water.

I hold out my hand

to its shining prospect.

With the light of dawn, I have

new hope.  I choose this path,

my fate is sealed.  Goodbye

Cuba, hello liberation.

Sharon Rothenfluch Cooper

(c) 2991

Mi Poesias Best of 2001 Poetry Board Awarded Poems, July 2001

Published:  La Rosa Blanca, April 2001

Published:  DaNaHo Muse, July 2003, Featured Poet

Published:  Sound & Silence Magazine, Muly 2003

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Smells of lavender greet my nose.

I see a wedding dress and lacy veil,

nestled baby clothes

hand-stitched by nuns

cloistered in some far off town,

letters worn with faded script

tied with ribbons frayed from use.

My hands are veined and shake from age,

eyes are dimmed by many years

but memories are crisp and bright,

fondly cherished in my heart.

Sharon Rothenfluch Cooper

(c) 2000

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Time In Slow Motion

I walk the brightly lit and bustling

halls alone, noise all around

but the silence is deafening.

I watch the hands move slowly,

mired in time.  People are everywhere

and the world hurries by in disarray.

I sit down waiting.  Worried

thoughts reach upward,

my book forgotten in my lap.

Hours slide by in slow motion

until he arrives still in hospital greens.

All is well, the operation a success.

Sharon Rothenfluch Cooper

(c) 2001

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The Veteran

The aged veteran looks across

the monument erected there,

buried glimpses of another day

sweep into mind, his soul laid bare.

Conceal the anguish buried deep,

he's hidden it away so long,

recalls with grief the bitter times

of battles fought and things gone wrong.

He shares this time not willingly,

hurts too deep for him to share,

in his mind a thought for those

who'd not returned - the young, the fair.

Sharon Rothenfluch Cooper

(c) 2001

Published:  Battle Stars', March-April 2001

Production of "Soldier's Heart", April 2005,

performed at Lincoln Hall, Portland State University

Published:  soldiersheart.org - - Poet in Residence

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Let It Be

Myopic, he peered

through wire-rimmed

granny glasses

and wore his "haircut heard

'round the world',

a true hippie look.

Life a long whispered track,

he was determined

to pursue his dreams,

come together,

interact without prejudice.

Heard the funeral dirge

and John Lennon's reply,

"It's a drag, isn't it?"

The world laments,

utters as one, "Let It Be."

Sharon Rothenfluch Cooper
(c) June 2001

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Grieving Loss

Brave men committed to their ideal

plunge their planes into buildings

in Washington and Manhattan

killing many thousands

including themselves.

Brave men committed to their ideals

plunge a plane into a deserted field

near Philadelphia, carry out

a deliberate action to save lives,

lose their own and die heroes.

All these brave men believed

their cause righteous.

Cowards hide in caves and councils,

direct others to do their evil work

in the name of Allah.

Muslims turn faces away

from men who slaughter in His name.

The world community mourns

the loss of life in the name of God,

Budda, Allah, all one in their sameness.

A grieving God watches his children

destroy each other and weeps.

Sharon Rothenfluch Cooper

(c) September 2001

Published:  Battle Stars', Jan-Feb 2002

Published:  soldiersheart.org

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Manhatten Madness

Mayhem marks the moment,

terror strikes the city's heart.

A nation mourns outraged,

promises retaliation.

Children cling fearfully,

parents hold on tenaciously,

anger dark and deadly descends

on a country crippled emotionally.

Disaster does not destroy,

it stiffens our resolve

to crush the cowardly,

rise and avenge the fallen.

Sharon Rothenfluch Cooper

(c) September 11th, 2001

Published:  Battle Stars', Jan-Feb 2002

Published:  soldiersheart.org, July 2005

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