Poems
by Christopher Foster

On Triumph

I was thinking that something must change,
I must create a different circumstance,
Or move to a different place,
Or perhaps make myself single again,
Then I will know triumph.
I must achieve some great thing,
Like getting a successful book published,
The way I have always dreamed,
Or accruing some real material wealth.
Then the taste of victory 
Will be sweet like honey in my mouth,
And joy will jump in my veins.
My attainment would be self-evident,
My status quite incontrovertible.
But we were talking together just now,
You and I,
And I realized once again how simple 
It all is.
You are not asking for any of these things.
You are asking only for my love.
And so I turn to you, the Lord of my life,
And this pitiful little moment,
So empty, so bare,
That was about to pass me by 
Unnoticed, 
Unclaimed, 
Transforms itself. It becomes like a sun
And pours out its plenty.

--Christopher Foster
February 2000

The Question

In the aftermath of a warm September day, 
In the midst of our anguish and pain, 
There is one who watches,
Silent and unseen.
Her heart is filled with compassion
And yearning. 
A sad smile
Is on her lips,
And a question is forming there.

Nature, so generous and forgiving,
So terrible when roused,
You’ve seen it all before, haven’t you? 
Floods, and earthquakes. 
Mountains thrown up in place of the sea. 
Empires broken in two like matchsticks, 
Proud civilizations buried 
Like ants.

In the shadow of a tall redwood 
I hear your voice.
Where the river murmurs softly
And a million stars gleam in the purple night
I hear the question that is on your lips.

Who will hear the song
That the earth is singing?
Who will listen to the quietness
That is back of our busy world?
It waits for all of us,
That quietness,
Tugging at the heart. 
It will not stop.
It says let me in, 
I am the only one
Who can bring you peace.

Who will hear the quietness
Of the universe breathing?

--Christopher Foster
October 5 2001