A GATEKEEPER’S VIGIL
I wander through carpets of heather and primrose
leaving behind a discordant arena
my salve is found locked in this garden
where a single flower can restore the soul
no strife present in this cloister of tranquility
as a soft breeze shakes marigold petals
forming a wreath of gold around my ankles.
Standing in a meadow of solitudes
one can absorb the peacefulness of earth
watch the landscape begin to soften
the flowers standing monastic in parallel rows
their stems posed as soothsayers, pensive, pondering.
I inhale the fragrance of this colorful mosaic
extend my palms to embrace their beauty
ready to move into a different space
gatekeeper to those forgotten fields
where clusters of white blossom into an Eden
a shepherd’s purse.
From that purse pockets of solace will be gathered
and when there are enough
all the branches with an Easter promise
will be carried to the world outside.
Helen Leslie Sokolsky’s poems have appeared in a number of publications including Confrontation, The California Poetry Quarterly, Poet Lore, The Poetry Review (PSA) and The Meridian Anthology of Contemporary Poetry. Recent publications include The Ekphrastic Review, Poetry Quarterly, POEM and The Aurorean. Her chapbook of poems Two Sides of a Ticket was published by Finishing Line Press in 2014 and she is a three time nominee for the Pushcart Prize. Helen loved her work as a Special Education teacher where she taught in the South Bronx for over 25 years. Some of those students have been an inspiration for her poetry. “I have never forgotten them.” She lives with her husband in upper Manhattan near Ft. Tryon park and her two daughters and grandson are out in Ohio.