Simple things

So kind of you to leave us your chairs 

That we might pause to enjoy the view 

While out on our evening walk. 

Imagine if kindness and finding pleasure 

In simple things 

Were goals all of us bought into…

Ordinary beauty

Perhaps, as John Cowper Powys suggests, 

Life would be sweeter 

 If we could learn to appreciate — Even enjoy — 

The beauty in the ordinary, 

So that even a trip to the mailbox 

Becomes a pleasant excursion…

Fire season

It’s fire season in our fair state, 

And though our little corner has been lucky so far, 

The major road onto our peninsula was closed 

All Thursday day and night 

For a fire that was finally contained 

But still burning when we drove out Friday. 

And so we were doubly grateful

for last night’s rain…

Seeking answers

Like the squirrel who leaps into my fig tree 

To sample its wares, 

We sample the answers 

 The world has to offer 

To the questions that trouble us most: 

Why, and what if, and how did this happen, 

And what might I do 

To accept or improve circumstances?

Simple pleasures

Let us never be so carried away 

By life’s trials and tribulations 

 That we forget to be grateful 

 For the simple pleasures that can greet us, 

Even in our darkest moments.

Abstraction

Abstraction requires a tolerance for ambiguity; 

An ability to live in a world 

That cannot be reduced to black and white 

Or right and wrong; 

Where one thing merges into another 

And the underlying understanding is 

That somehow, somewhere, 

Beneath all we know to be separate, 

Everything connects in mysterious ways.

Outshone

Who notices the moon at her slow rising, 

When the sun is filling the sky with color 

As she drops below the horizon? 

And yet it is the moon 

Who so bravely blesses the darkness, 

Sharing what little light she can muster 

With anyone who seeks it.

Peaceful reflections

Peaceful reflections on a sunny summer’s day 

Help us set aside the troubles of the world.

Let there be light

May the light that pours through these windows 

Pour through us as well.

Ignition to ashes

Long after the sun goes down, 

The sky is still ablaze with color, 

And yet, come morning, 

The sky is gray with fog; No colors to be seen. 

How like a life that seems, 

Or a brief moment’s celebrity:

 Ignition, and then ashes…

Illusion

Watch closely: 

There may be things you can’t explain; 

That don’t seem to jive 

 With your memory of how things were. 

Don’t be afraid; it may just be a trick of the light — 

Or perhaps some more sinister illusion…

Summer gardens

There is such grace in a summer garden; 

An alluring peace, an invitation 

To simply sit and breathe the scents 

Of a summer’s afternoon…

Moving forward

There are days when change is in the air 

And it all seems overwhelming. 

At times like this, it’s good to step back, 

Take a deep breath, and look at the long view. 

 Yes, you’re leaving the old life behind, 

With its clarity and familiarity, 

But a new life awaits, with new adventures, 

New potential, and opportunities for growth: 

Breathe again, and leap into it!

Seeking the light

May the thorny obstacles in our path 

Give way to the light that awaits us.

Inevitability of change

With just a single red leaf, 

Nature reminds us 

That nothing lasts forever; 

That summer always fades into fall, 

Just as surely as the dark days of winter 

Will warm into spring; 

That what is now will surely pass, 

And what awaits is always changing.

In mourning

The Pieta perfectly captures, 

Not just how any mother mourns the loss of a child, 

But how any human feels when watching 

Something pure and precious 

Be thoughtlessly destroyed. 

Helplessness in the face of things unfair 

Is always devastating.

The gift of space

There’s something about having —

 Or even just seeing — the space 

To dream, and to imagine a better, kinder world; 

To feel yourself a part of nature; 

To understand the underlying 

 Connectedness of things…

Fake vs. real

Though it looks like a painting,

 It’s a photograph, though I never figured out — 

Because it sat in a bowl of water — 

If the flower was real or artificial. 

And that’s how things seem to be, these days: 

We know, less and less, 

What is true and what is false; 

What’s human-generated 

And what’s AI…

How can we protect?

We’ve learned to erect scaffolding 

Around the buildings we need to protect and repair, 

But what scaffoldings have we put in place 

To protect and repair the principles, 

The morality and integrity 

Once established for our society?

Ageless beauty

How is an old barn like Cleopatra?

 “Age cannot wither her, 

Nor custom stale her infinite variety.” 

That which we love 

Seems ever beautiful before our eyes. 

If only we could learn to love 

Each moment in our lives…

Just curious

What happens in an old New England Inn, 

When someone decides to mount candles 

On the wall above a fireplace. 

I found them in the summer, and wondered, 

Am I the only one who noticed that they melted? 

Or is it that they’ve been left here as a joke?

Moments to remember

What is it we’ll remember, 

When our days draw to a close? 

Will it be acquisitions and accomplishments,

 Or precious moments, and special people? 

What choices might we make this day 

To spend our time and energies more wisely?

Eagle eyes

He who watches over all 

Is seeking, not to protect, but to devour:

Whatever he has just destroyed 

 Never seems to bring satisfaction.

At day’s end

At day’s end, 

We make time to reflect and dream: 

How have I made the world a better place today, 

And what might I do tomorrow 

To encourage the resurgence 

Of peace and compassion?

Oases of beauty

We used to have a saying mounted 

On our office wall: “You can’t control the wind, 

But you can adjust your sails.” 

In times like these, we may feel helpless 

Against the powers that be, 

But we can still create oases of beauty 

Where energy and passion can rest and be restored.

The burning of the bush

My camera could only capture 

The redness of the smoky sun 

 By shooting from behind a bush.

 Remembering Moses, 

Who also faced a burning bush 

Because the sight of God was too intense,

 I wonder what new commandments 

We’re meant to take away 

From yet another summer spent in flames?

Astonishment

Some days I find it astonishing 

That nature continues to thrive 

Despite all that’s going wrong in the world.

Confirmation bias

Somehow I don’t believe 

That a train would arrive in this location 

With any kind of speed that might endanger 

Any person standing nearby. 

So it seems the sign is there to add to the illusion 

Of truth. 

It may be wiser to confirm 

What you’re seeing with your eyes 

Than to assume that what you’re told is actually true.

For the wildfires

We humans need beauty to soothe our hearts 

When the world’s going up in flames. 

I’m aching today for all those affected 

By the wildfires raging at home and abroad.

Bridge of Flowers

How brilliant is this,

 To take an abandoned bridge, 

Fill it with dirt, 

And plant a glorious array of flowers 

For people to enjoy? 

Thank you to the gardeners 

Of Shelburne Falls, Mass!

Creativity

I suspect the key ingredients 

In the practice of creativity 

 Must be confidence and courage: 

The confidence to believe 

That your particular vision has value, 

And the courage to step outside the box, 

To question underlying assumptions 

 And resist the voices that call for conformity.