Welcome to the poetry of Mary Fumento.

Light

A person without companions is like a sky without sun, empty and gray, with nothing to chase away the clouds. - Mary O. Fumento

Evening Coronation

Glorious moon:
Rising from the horizon,
Shining through
The still naked branches
Of trees awaiting
Their spring leaves.

Her reflective beauty;
Not intrinsic.
Like beauty of pearl
Or diamond or opal,
All which glow only
When light passes through.

Or when Light is reflected
From them. Their beauty truly
In the eye of the beholder.
We see, therefore,
We are.
- Mary O. Fumento, 2012

Lullaby

Your voice alone
Gentleness in song
A protective sheath
A guard against dawn
A hideaway deep
A defense strong
In quiet murmur
A softness long
A wing will carry
To where we belong
- Mary O. Fumento, 2012

Firefly

I found you
I saw you
I felt you
I tasted

You were only light

I hadn't thought
You even existed
Pure magic, not myth
Yet there you were

Illuminating life for me
Until, like light, you quickened

Vanishing into the night
- Mary O. Fumento, 2008

Celestial

Every blue sky belongs
To you
Even fluffy white clouds
I adore
Because the heavens are love
You bring
Covering, protecting, devotion
You share
Without pretense or payment
Daily, unending
You deliver goodness
For us
- Mary O. Fumento, 2011

Peaks

Reach for the sky
Embrace the clouds
And the moon and sun
Even touch twinkling stars
For you can, they are yours
There to be forever shared
- Mary O. Fumento, 2010

Moonbeams

The sky is radiant tonight
An unabashed, seductive moon
Throwing herself recklessly
Against the fondling clouds

Their fluff, her curves
Her shine under their cover
In soft yet distinct light
Yes, the sky is radiant tonight
- Mary O. Fumento, 2009

Blossoms

(for my mother)

Blossoms Pink and gentle hues
Scents of heaven itself
Reaching for a handful of sun
Roots entwined in smoothest earth
With welcoming branches of greenest wing
Embracing many tiny, hidden lives
And shielding even the grass for storms

What of your own fragile existence?

Never a reply; sweet smile
But a knowing glance or two
Swaying ever softly in the breeze
– Mary O. Fumento, 1988

In Giving

(for my father)

I will always remember
The caring way you give
To others
Even when they do not appreciate
All of the goodness you offer
To them

Sometimes it is hard to understand
Why others cannot be so willing
To love
But I guess it is because
Few are as very special
As you

But know that I care
And I am grateful for the many things
You do
And I will always be thankful
That you are an essential part
Of me
- Mary O. Fumento, 1988

I do not profess to be the light, but merely its conveyor. I have not all of the wisdom, but I have found enough to call myself experienced. I may not know all of life, but I recognize its beauty and find within it a place to appreciate the world's potential. - Mary O. Fumento

Dedication

To give
Willingly
To you
From deep inside
Of me
Always
Even when
You do not
Understand what I offer
Or are ashamed
Of my intensity
Just know
Forever and unconditionally
I will
Never
Stop loving
You
- Mary O. Fumento, 1988

Into the Quiet

Do you hear her calling
How well she knows your name
You recognize her softness
And realize why she came
Embrace the serenity she offers
Listen to the psalm she sings
She leads from a place of sadness
And away from all of the suffering
If you look closely you will recall
That you were with her very long ago
You gladly return to warmth and tranquility
The most gentle place you'll ever know
- Mary O. Fumento, 1996

Tapestries

Come with me
For I am the weaver
And you the witness
The threads of our lives
Will be spun and tangled
In strange yet familiar fashions
Which decorate the masterpiece
Which only we can create
- Mary O. Fumento, 1988

Loved Ones

You never really miss them
Until they have gone away
When they are too far to hear
The words you long to say
They seem to drive you crazy
And home is much too close
But when you leave for a while
The pests you miss the most
Their fighting and bad habits
The way they joke and jeer
Are but lonesome, aching memories
As you wish that they were here
So later when I grow angry
And banish them from sight
Let remember that I love them
And need them in my life
I never want to forget them
Or take them for granted again
For every time I hurt them
I have lost my closest friends
- Mary O. Fumento, 1985

Gifted

We all have gifts, not hard to find
A most unusual one is the mind
It is here we are to ponder
The joys of every wonder
A wealth of speech and thought
That can neither be stolen nor bought
We have the gift of simply living
To know the pride of selfless giving
A soul to know wrong from right
To choose a saving, guiding light
A peace forever calls our name
From a separate, higher domain
And perhaps the greatest gift of all
To be in Heaven when earth does fall
- Mary O. Fumento, 1981

Experience

Always changing
Ever knowing
Elusive captive in a modern world
Owned but not possessed
Holding answers to perpetual questions
- Mary O. Fumento, 1981

Celebrate

No matter what others think
No matter what they say or do
Your uniqueness cannot be taken away
Sometimes
When others do not understand
You must look within yourself
To find ultimate acceptance
Always
You must know what others may not
That you are beautiful and worthwhile
Therefore seize today
Believe
Trust in your potential
Be what you can and want
Celebrate - that you are who you are
- Mary O. Fumento, 1988

Kites

Face upheld and forever smiling
Out you dare into the wind
Unafraid of the biting cold
And even the angry rain
Never glancing at the darkening clouds

Even when they follow wherever you go
But believing in your beautiful self
You find a light and a warmth for us
As if you know that only storms
Can bring breezes and rainbows
The happy things that make us smile
And cherish with you our sunny days
- Mary O. Fumento, 1990

Contraire

Your dreams and hopes
Are based on the love
Of the people around you
Their belief in you
And all you are and will be

You and I are not alone
But tied irrevocably
For nothing happens within a vacuum
What transpires is a reaction
Of your ideas embracing mine
- Mary O. Fumento, 1997

Rendezvous

Through history, over ages
And here you are
Speaking volumes of a time lost
A generation almost forgotten
A place I have never seen
But the virtues are still true
As if you were waiting, a reminder
Of something we never shared and yet
Together we cherish now
And there, with you, stand I
- Mary O. Fumento, 1997

Poetry

They said it would stop
They said it would have a limit
But it has coursed right on
It was supposed to end but didn't

So onward it still will go
And carry me along with it
Easier to stop my heart and lungs
Than locate the source and quit it
- Mary O. Fumento, 2007