A Love Poem from Gwynn O'Gara
From her new book of poetry "We Who Dream."
Song for a Bride
There is nothing like it
Beloved, a good man purring at your breast
the cellar full of groats and salt
your future brewing like soup on the stove
You learn about proportion
and the language your lover dreams in
Exploring the landscape you will age in
you send your boats out, low in the water
with the bulk of your history
quick and shimmery with delight
Sometimes his boats come to you so weighted down
you go on strike until he unloads them himself
or your heart cracks enough to let him in
Sometimes on unmarked anniversaries
of the first time you understood each other
or his first appearance in your dreams
your boats sail off together
no longer servants but envoys
meeting and going off on their own
Gwynn O’Gara
Gwynn O’Gara lives in Sebastopol and her bio say that she’s a “poet with roots in the natural world, Beat poetry, and her early years in Mexico. O’Gara found her voice performing in San Francisco’s North Beach, and her first book, Snake Woman Poems, was celebrated at City Lights Bookstore in 1983.” She served as Sonoma County Poet Laureate from 2010-2011.
Gwynn O’Gara’s new book of poetry, We Who Dream, is published by Finishing Line Press. It can be found at Copperfield’s in Sebastopol and Montgomery Village. The cover painting is by Mark Casey Milestone.
What a powerful collection of poems from a very talented poet in our community. 🙏🏽💗