At the Center of Holy
for Matthew Fox
Let me get back to the time
when to breathe was to worship.
Standing in the woods at daybreak
was to feel the essence of prayer.
Circling around a shagbark hickory
brought me into the center of holy.
My silent voice wanted to
break into ancient chant
but the birds knew how
to sing for a boy like me.
All I had to do to thank
my parents for bringing me
into creation was listen
to the chorus of songs
that came out of the leaves
and fell into my open ears
Norbert Krapf, Indiana Poet Laureate 2008-10, has published nine poetry collections, the most recent last year from Indiana Univ. Press, Songs in Sepia and Black and White. This year American Dreams: Border Crossings, seven prose poem cycles, will appear from Mongrel Empire Press. Norbert taught for 34 years at Long Island University, where he directed the C.W. Post Poetry Center. As Indiana Poet Laureate, he stressed the reunion of poetry and music and held a 2011-12 Creative Renewal Fellowship to combine poetry and blues from the Arts Council of Indianapolis, where he has lived since 2004. He was a featured reader at the Scissortail Creative Writing Festival last year.