What lovely gift I received when Ron Bremner, an accomplished poet and enthusiastic Poetry Study Group contributor, sent me a copy of You are once again the stranger, his wonderfully versatile  poetry collection. Gathered over many years, it includes free verse, rhyming poetry, and a scattering of beautiful haiku. As Ron says so well, “These are poems for your life, your work, and your play, to be read in cafes, bars, libraries, and your lonely room.” I had a hard time picking one poem to share! If you’d enjoy reading more of Ron’s work, you can find You are once again the stranger on Amazon.

The crossing of the Red Sea

Ron Bremner

The sky is a red sea,
The moon is a smooth stone.
Dark cloud eroding islands
Shade deep-hung cliffs.

Washed in by such an evening tide:
Revolutions gasp in bartered currents;
Romance erodes in dullish sweat;
Creation skims and dips away.

But in the cleaven sea, something
bright excites the iris.
And the cool, round moon echoes
with remembered melodies.
And in the dark island caves
lurking, hiding,
waiting to be discovered,
lives…what promise?
  what fate?

These are reasons;
fair enough,
as reasons go.
No less real
than any abstract.
No less false
than any trust.

The sky is a red sea,
The moon is a smooth stone.
Dark cloud ferry steamers
Pledge to carry me home.