Spring, returning

Astonishing though it may seem, 

Spring seems to be returning: 

The cherry blossoms bloom, 

Beside the pink house once again,

 And the daffodils are springing up,

 Lifting their golden crowns 

In defiance, though the winter winds 

Still dust our lawns with frost. 

Hearts everywhere are warming, 

And smiles of greeting flourish 

As we emerge from hibernation.

That which binds us

That which binds us to the past

May seem outdated, rusticated, 

Yet despite their age, 

The old truths and admonitions 

 Still hold valid: the Golden Rule, 

The Ten Commandments, 

Our Constitution, 

The disciplines of Lent — 

All carry wisdom we’d be foolish to ignore.

The appeal of fog

I’ve always loved the way that fog 

 Can imbue a simple scene 

With magic and mystery. 

Why is it that a mental fog 

Is so much less appealing?

The majesty of clouds

There’s something so breathtaking 

 About the infinite majesty of clouds. 

It makes my heart soar.

On loneliness

There are moments in a life 

When the loneliness of the human condition 

Breaks our hearts; 

When the path to redemption 

Seems dry and empty; 

Our only companions 

Bare thorned branches of remorse.

Be the rock

You can choose to be the rock; 

To let the waves of drama 

Brush against you,

 But to block them, hold them back, 

So the lives you touch beyond you 

Aren’t disturbed, but continue 

Calm and peaceful.

Greet the new week

With hearts open and arms outstretched 

We greet the new week, 

Full of hope and awaiting joy.

A valentine for the broken-hearted

It seems appropriate to post 

This, my most recent painting,

 On Valentine’s Day, 

Even though it seems to me 

A bit broken-hearted; 

Perhaps a bit discouraged. 

Perhaps it’s a way of sending 

 A message of love and companionship 

To all who may be broken-hearted, 

In hopes that, in the end, 

Love will prove triumphant …

Traps on a truck

Traps on a truck! 

Sounds like a swear word, 

Which would certainly capture my mood of late, 

Yet doesn’t begin to describe 

The charm of all these colors and lines. 

As Garrison Keillor used to say, 

To an English major (or a photographer) 

Everything is material! 

(And I say: beauty is everywhere)

Just rocks

I know. It’s just rocks; 

Why take — or show — a photo of just rocks? 

But something about the light, 

The way two small rocks shelter in the cleft, 

While also being singled out 

And lifted up as offerings; 

The way the others shelter in the shadow… 

Isn’t this what size and power 

Were meant to do? 

To support and protect the small and weak; 

Not to overcome?

Tea party

I imagine them gathering, 

In the late afternoons, 

For a bit of tea and gossip 

About things they have observed, 

Studiously ignoring 

The human who stands nearby 

While at the same time hoping 

She might feed them…

The urge to protect

The madrona stands out 

In a forest of evergreens 

As a naked woman would in a ballroom: 

All the ruffles and lace fade into oneness 

Against the bare vulnerability of skin — 

Awakening, unbidden, the urge to protect, 

As would a child, under threat from bullies. 

May that urge to protect 

 Always overwhelm the need for power.

A parable for today

Though the sun rose, as always, in the east, 

The east was overtaken 

By a vast, thick bank of clouds,

 And so the west offered to serve 

As a canvas for the colors 

Which had nowhere else to go, 

And together they brought beauty, spice, 

And vitality to the sky and all it touched.

Iridescence

The miracle of iridescence 

Feels like spirit, or love, 

Or creativity: so vibrant and alive; 

Incandescent, unpredictable, 

Yet possible if we are patient 

And can learn to watch and wait 

Til what looks green in one moment 

Turns in another 

To purple, blue, or teal 

While the yellow, brown, and orange 

Remain unchanged.

The Power of Love

It’s just a simple potting shed, 

But mother Nature’s special effects — 

The fog, and glorious sunsets — 

Infuse it with mystery and beauty.

 It’s love, I believe, 

That has that same effect on us humans…

Are we losing our way?

Some days it feels 

Like the guides we created 

To keep us on the straight and narrow 

And out of the weeds 

Have grown fuzzier and slipperier with time 

And may eventually disappear 

For lack of maintenance 

Or lack of use — 

 And does it even matter which? 

How can we find our way back 

To the spirit, and to truth?

Find courage in connection

It’s important to remember that 

Different things take courage 

For different people. 

For me, to draw the fine lines you see here 

Was far more frightening 

Than standing or speaking before a crowd 

Or starting a new play or painting: 

The voices in my head were shouting 

“You can’t draw! You know you’ll wreck this!” 

These are the times — 

When facing the voices that challenge us — 

We need to be willing to ask for support, 

To join forces together with neighbors,

Family, and friends 

And find courage together to resist 

The things that scare us.

More tenderness

I stand in my kitchen, 

Watching the mama doe and her yearling 

Gently loving on one another, 

And I think: this is what the world needs — 

More tenderness; 

More tenderness.

Encroachments

So often we erect barriers 

To keep us from dealing with 

The troubles of the world.

But over time, nature encroaches,

And though those encroachments

May seem lovely and fresh,

Over time they’re more likely

To pull those barriers down

And we’ll be forced to face

What we’d prefer to avoid…

To pull those barriers down 

And we’ll be forced to face 

What we’d prefer to avoid…

Gray days

Even on the gray days, 

People are still working, 

And I am working, too, 

Trying to find light between the grays 

Trying to welcome the contrast 

The dark provides; 

Greeting it with love, not hate, 

To soften its hard edges.

What if?

I watch my cat stare fixedly 

At a painting I’d stacked on the floor, 

And wonder: 

What are his thoughts as he stares, 

And what is it that engages him — 

Or did he just happen to fall asleep 

In that spot on the rug 

Instead of my lap? 

I know he loves music; 

What if he also loves art?