Happy Earth Day

To honor Earth Day, 

I offer these immortal lines 

From the New Zealand Book of Common Prayer, 

The Māori version of The Lord’s Prayer.

The triumph of spring

Yesterday, while my daughter napped, 

I took a walk around the yard 

Of the house where she’s recovering 

 From her latest chemo infusion 

And found these beautiful irises. 

How is it, that beauty can be so reassuring; 

That spring’s return after a long hard winter 

Always reminds us life can triumph 

 Over obstacles sometimes too painful to be borne?

Drama in the sky

I took so many pictures of last night’s sunset, 

Hoping to capture its beauty. 

This one’s not the prettiest, 

But definitely the most dramatic —

 It feels like it’s given me a glimpse of heaven: 

 Not just beauty, but a promise: 

Of depth, of hope, of a world beyond 

The surface challenges of the day.

Dark and light together

Driving by the variegated hillsides of spring, 

I’m enchanted by the contrasts in color; 

That dark and light can commingle 

 So seamlessly in nature 

Makes me wonder why we struggle so as humans 

Instead of appreciating the beauties in the mix.

Morning colors

The colors of the morning

Feed a hunger in our souls 

For what is good, and true, 

 And always waiting beneath the clouds.

Morning mystery

I never seem to tire 

Of the mystical effects 

Of an early morning sunrise: 

The way it turns the windows opaque 

While darkening the shadows, 

Adding an aura of enchantment 

To the ordinary…

On edge?

To sit and admire 

The constantly shifting majesty of clouds; 

To find yourself at the edge of the world, 

Watching for its end; 

To breathe, and breathe, and breathe again 

The sea salt air in hopes of clearing 

Your brain of all its fears and concerns 

Is a blessing not to be missed.

Present perfection

The perfection of that beak; 

So orange against the dark of the piling, 

Ignited as if from within by a trick of the light… 

These are the joys that presence can bring: 

To be wholly in the moment, wholly aware; 

To see what you may never see again 

Without regretting its loss when it passes.

Billionaire bird

The hawk levels his malevolent stare 

At me from his perch on the bird feeder 

As if he owns the joint, and woe 

To all who dare to extract a single seed 

From his domain…

Fencing in or fencing out?

The cherry tree’s in bloom again; 

The apple trees are leafing out, 

And there’s blossoms on the plum: oh, my! 

It won’t be long before the deer 

Are dancing on their hind legs, 

Snacking on our fruit. 

(That fence our neighbors built 

To keep them out, instead 

Seems to trap them in…)

Echoes of the Sun

Daffodils blooming at the edge of the cliff: 

Bright spots of yellow echo the sun.

Dragged down

Dragged down by the accretions 

Of the past several months, 

We spread our arms in welcome 

To the bright awakening and warm breezes 

Of spring.

The power of light

Such is the power of the light: 

To single out that which is beautiful; 

That which is unique to us alone, 

And to bring it to the attention of those around us; 

To celebrate individuality and make it known.

 And so the attention we pay 

To others and our surroundings 

Acts as light, enlivening our darkened world.

High climbers

Like my cat, some humans seem to have an urge 

To ascend to the highest possible place: 

The Everest for Sir Edmund Hillary; 

The moon, for the astronauts of Artemis ll. 

For me, I am happy down here on the ground, 

Breathing the scents of Spring.

Glow brighter as the dark descends

Evening, and as the dark rolls in,

 Shrinking the light, 

The color intensifies to flame 

 Before winking out. 

I hope my life will do the same;

 That whatever gifts I have 

 Glow brighter as I age and dark descends…

The charms of imperfection

Just as the artist seeks to render 

The scene that lies before her, 

The clouds attempt to mimic 

The mountain’s shape below them. 

Each slight divergence from exactness 

 Adds to the charm of their endeavors.

As spring returns

As the weather warms, 

 And the puddles slowly fade 

From our daily walk, 

The mountain reappears 

 From behind the clouds 

 That brought all that rain 

And we rejoice to find spring still returns 

Despite the darkness in the world.

Happy Easter!

 

Recognizing our oneness

Love, says Eckhart Tolle, 

Is the recognition of oneness 

In the world of duality; 

To see in the face of another 

The underlying spirit 

That grounds, fuels, and unites you both. 

What if we took the time to see 

That connection in every person we greet? 

Would that not make us each feel less alone?

From suffering to grace

So much of suffering is complicated 

By our attitude toward that suffering — 

Which is not to belittle the pain of it, 

But rather an attempt to help us understand 

That to greet pain with denial, 

 Claiming “this should not be happening,” 

Only adds to our discomfort. 

To accept what is, and seek for ways 

To transform what’s learned into grace — 

That is the key.

Who benefits from deception?

Even without AI, 

 It is possible to mislead people; 

To delude them into thinking 

What they see’s not what it is. 

Magicians, movies, actors and politicians 

 Have been doing that for years. 

What matters most is not what’s false 

But the intent behind the deception 

And who benefits.

Eagle eyes

This watchful bird with his young eagle eyes 

Looks down from his branch at the sea below, 

Ready to fly down and capture the fish 

That swim beneath the waves that crash on the shore.