|| Cees Maurick ||

Feet firmly planted on ground

as though they grew

out of the earth

like some forest species of plant

Reflected in his eye

the blue of the sky

turns bluer

From the ocean

the tender-hearted friend

fills his heart

with boundless tenderness

for all

Tired with the world

he seeks haven in the forest

more civilized than the world

of cultured humans

This animal loving hunter

hunts to save the forest

and its denizens

As the talk turns serious

his forefinger describes

an unending whorl

on his temple

as if tightening the invisible

screws of his brain

To indicate money

he rubs the tip

of his forefinger

against his thumb

and says-money!

Money and mind-

that is Cees Maurick

money calls for mind

but mind calls for something

that only Cees Maurick knows

His feet

untired like wheels

ever on the move

he often returns

to the forest

to fill his eye and time

From the walls of his

river-front home

heads of deer look

at the goings on with

wondering, innocent eyes

on the tables sit birds

turning wood into

living branches

The day spent

unraveling the intricacies

of commerce

the evening finds him

amidst his animals-caressing

a forehead

the body

the fur

as though their lifeless

bodies hold the joy of touch

For children the hand

of an angel

for friends the hand

of a friend

for dear ones

the touch of living love

the worst enemy

of the violent 

Countering worry with laughter

he dissolves his laughter

in wine sharing his energy

and friendship with

friends and family

he is the liquid

that lubricates the machinery

of his business

His home a strange aviary

of forest and water bird

models and masks

He loves his forest animals

like friends

and like his home

loves the forest

I often wonder-

is the forest his home

and animals his friends?