Promise of hope

The moon shines orange 

Through the grasping, chaotic branches; 

A promise of hope and light 

Once we struggle past 

 This dark corner of our lives.

Be your best self

See how this tree leans, 

Yet still produces blossoms 

That ignite the neighborhood? 

We don’t have to be perfect; 

We can still make a difference 

By just being the best we can be.

Reminiscing…

Somehow this picture captures 

The idyllic family vacations of my childhood - 

Not that we ever had one like this: 

We went to beaches, not lakes or ponds, 

And my mom never cooked outside. 

But it was just the three of us, 

And there was that sense of joy, 

And there was faith, 

And regular church attendance, 

And a sense of quiet peace — you know, 

“God’s in his heaven, 

All’s right with the world.”

Alight with love

Let each of us be alight with love 

To guide others safely home.

From a distance

Like our cat, who prefers to view the world 

From the highest possible perch, 

The eagles like to scan the shore 

 From the top of our tallest tree— 

A model of behavior often advocated 

By my organizational behavior instructors. 

“Go to the balcony,” they used to say, 

And “Don’t get stuck in the weeds,” 

For, as Bette Midler used to sing,

 “From a distance, we are instruments, 

Marching in a common band,

 Playing songs of hope, 

Playing songs of peace, 

The songs of every man.”

Time’s distance

It’s a truism, of course, 

That distance makes things seem smaller: 

Here’s proof — did you even notice 

Mount Baker in the distance, 

The lone seagull amid the cormorants 

On the dock? 

Time’s distance works in similar ways: 

Not only grief and pain, but also joy;

 In fact all memories may fade, 

Though never disappear, 

Lost only to those not present 

For the actual experience. 

The stories may remain, 

 But impact lessens over time 

Until we seem to have no choice 

But to repeat ancient mistakes.

Morning pick-me-up

Drink them in, 

The colors of the morning, 

And allow them to revitalize your day; 

To make it sparkle 

With possibility and hope.