farewell

after she stands and leaves

I feel edges of her space

then her absence

note: Books I am reading: The Shepherd’s Life by James Rebanks and

The Magician by Colm Toibin.

Arise

Arise

dust off dreams from your eyes 

the foliage is changing colors

leaves are abundantly falling

birds are toeing ahead of me

You don’t have to move boulders to walk the dogs

Ladies walking in pairs smile as they wave

Lift the heaviness that anchors your mind

fisherman’s eyes rides the wake testing his passion

The boatman glances to the fisherman,

thinks what he is missing

Arise

walk, share your sweet time with others

or get the ladder and wash your windows

before mornings turn quickly into afternoons

Continuity

the living is living

not solitary

not making oneself interesting

strands of life and things

but interested

Like a question

A walk may open to surprises

If one has no goal

Desultory

A cat enjoying 

the softness of her fur

Where are you

Outside, sunny and pleasant

dog paces in the living room

waiting for someone to play with.

One morning

One morning in an open field

I see a blue heron

Flying above are geese

Walking in the woods I hear song birds

But birds and other creatures are diminishing

Glaciers are breaking, drought is widening 

The air is getting warmer

Weather patterns are frightening

The Arctic terns losing their colonies

We are intimate of their extinction

Once, we love the earth

Try to shape it with our vision without understanding

Arrogant to admit mistakes

How is it that I have to ask

For a few good men and women

With courage to stand the challenge

385,000 babies are born in the world, every day.

They do not hide.

Catch me

Even old age can catch a wave

ride the summit of its power

and smile

few minutes of experience

a heart palpitates

will surf again

or may lay dormant

desire never fades

wakes with the tide 

Holy Day

The day is so quiet

The pickup truck is still parked 

When it drives over the street bump

You hear deafening sounds of tires, metals and pieces thrown in disarray as if

A house is breaking

No sirens, no cars speeding to scenes of accident

Or hurrying to help someone with medical emergency

I open a window, see a young boy riding haphazardly his bicycle, oblivious of cars driving by

I hear the birds singing,

I hear their love calls

Today is Sabbath Day

In the story of creation, 6 days are good days 

The seventh day is a holy day

I see an elderly woman with her 2 dogs returning from her walk 

She starts to be forgetful

But she remembers her way back home

She is so amiable in her forgetfulness

She makes any day holy.

Retreat

Sitting by a creek inside a forest

Your notebooks spread out

Over stones and ferns

Sounds of tiny waterfalls accompany your thoughts

The dimension of your existence opens before you

Oneness of spirit, wholeness one song.

On the porch, one day

Someone leaves a small heart-shape  wood carving,

Another day, a sketch of fiddleheads

Or a haiku

Kindness from unknown neighbors

Who will later introduced themselves

Retreat in the woods

Finding new friends threaded with similar

Attitude of solitariness

Learning how to be present

In the moment, to attend

Slowing of time

A time to feel and touch the earth again

With its ecstasy and pain.

Moments

Moments move our emotions, our life

How can I move like time

I am a humble hummingbird

Hovering over flowers until I am out breath

There is wisdom in the stones I will not know

Or a camaraderie with bees I will not experience

Where can I go my friend to touch the warmth of time

Perhaps I can find a child who will want a lullaby

My wings can sing her a song.