Leafy greenliness

What beauty we might detect in scenes like this 

Would depend upon our willingness to appreciate 

 The randomness, the natural arrangement 

 Of water, grass, stone and stump, 

While at the same time imagining 

(Projecting, if you will) 

Angelic or childlike creatures 

Delighting in the presence of 

A pond, the leafy greenliness of spring, 

And the warm embrace of sunlight after 

A winter’s lengthy cold and dark…

Compensation

The wind last night was churning up the waves, 

Tossing the trees 

 And hurling pine cones at our roof and windows. 

But still the sun, 

 As if to compensate for all that violence, 

Insisted on brushing all her clouds with pink; 

Put to the blush at seeing wind’s fierce temper 

Exposed.

In that liminal space

They seem to keep recurring, 

Those times when we are clearly between: 

We know — however imperfectly — 

What lies behind us; 

We can clearly tell we’ve left it behind; 

We seem to be moving forward— 

However slowly— 

But it’s not exactly clear 

What we’re moving toward, 

Or how long it might take to get there, 

Or what may await us when we finally arrive. Uncomfortable as we all tend to be 

 With uncertainty, 

It’s easy to be tempted to turn back; 

To return to the known 

 From which we walked away. 

But we need to trust 

 That the reasons for our departure are still valid, 

And what lies ahead, 

 However long it takes to get there, 

Will have something fresh and reinvigorating 

 That will help us more fully realize 

The promise of fulfillment 

 With which we’ve each been entrusted.

Feeding the future

Having carefully rid our lawn of dandelions,

 She now seeks her reward: 

How about a little cracked corn, 

Or perhaps a few tasty peanuts? 

Think of it as nourishment 

For her as yet unborn fawn…

Curse of perfection

The morning sun fashions a tapestry of lace 

Upon the window just across from me; 

A momentary gift before it rises into the scene 

And overwhelms the vibrant colors with its light, 

Just as a demand for perfection 

Might reduce the charming appeal 

Of a child’s presentation or a haphazard garden; 

A toss of flowers in a field or in the woods…

Stay the course

And on those days 

When life feels like an endless struggle,

 A path of infinite resistance, 

A desperate hanging on to keep from falling 

Backwards into a slough of despond, 

I wish you strength to stay the course, 

The courage to resist the tide of negativity 

 That threatens to overwhelm us all, 

And the grace to see beyond the struggle 

And trust that light and joy will come again.

The wall of thorns

There’s something reminiscent 

 About the choice to hide such beauty 

Behind a wall of thorns… ah yes! 

The fairy tale; Sleeping Beauty! 

But that was not the first thing to come to mind. 

Instead I pictured my daughters, 

And the ways they chose (or learned) 

To dress to mask their beauty 

 From the predators they encountered 

In the world…