November

Remember
remember the dead
and those still
with us draw breath
Remember veterans
and armistice
reasoning for war
the wreckage of a man’s
and a woman’s
living, family, a nation,
a world, that it never ends
anything but life

Remember to vote
that fierce whisper
amid the chattering clamor
power to say enough

Remember
a thwarted gunpowder plot
all those who would tear
asunder that which is joined

Remember to give thanks
not eat too much
make room at the table
and that Advent is coming soon
Remember me, he said
whenever you break bread
and pour wine to share

Remember
students in Prague
and the Velvet Revolution
the golden queen’s
ascension and deathbed
remember the Compassionate
One enthroned in Tibet
yet to return

Remember the owl
her silent flight beneath
Orion's watchful eye
the cloistered bee
the beauty of bare trees
a carpet of russet and gold
not to be seen for another year

Remember
the seed, the sunken bulb,
the misplaced acorn and walnut
the promise of life
cycled within death