Poetry inspired by Joni Mitchell from Diane Elayne Dees

For Joni

The canyons echo the coyote's mournful cry
of loneliness, for which there are no words,
yet suddenly, like graceful home-bound birds,
the words appear as written on the sky.
The painted ponies dip, then leap so high,
they startle us. In silver-bridled herds,
they bear us through the grand and the absurd;
at journey's end, we still do not know why.
And yet the music calls us to go on,
amid an often misty atmosphere
that tends to blur the darkness and the light.                                     
The melodies remain after we've gone,
as glorious reminders we were here,
though we are stardust scattered in the night.

Originally published in the anthology, Poeming Pigeon: Poems About Music 

BIO:

Diane Elayne Dees is the author of the poetry chapbooks, Coronary Truth (Kelsay Books) The Last Time I Saw You (Finishing Line Press), and The Wild Parrots of Marigny (Querencia Press). Diane, who lives in Covington, Louisiana, also publishes Women Who Serve, a blog that delivers news and commentary on women’s professional tennis throughout the world. Her author blog is Diane Elayne Dees: Poet and Writer-at-Large.

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Women Who Serve

DIANE ELAYNE DEES: POET AND WRITER-AT-LARGE