Making allowances

On a foggy morning,

 Cars gather at the ferry landing, 

Hoping that the boat 

 Will eventually be permitted to depart. 

We’ve learned, in all our island years, 

Not to depend on schedules: 

 Though it’s important to arrive on time, 

There are no guarantees 

That we’ll get where we’re going 

When we hope to, 

 So we always add extra time 

To allow for the exigencies of nature — 

Now, if only we’d make similar allowances 

 For the exigencies of human nature, 

This might be a kinder world…

God’s place

When our daughters were very young, 

Our Church met in a school, 

But had purchased some land not far away, 

On which they hoped someday to build. 

Occasionally the parishioners 

 Would head out to that wooded lot to worship, 

And for years afterwards, 

Whenever our oldest would come 

 To a clearing in the woods — anywhere — 

She would say, “This is God’s place, Mommy,” 

And even now, I hear the echo of her voice 

 When I walk into a clearing, 

 And I breathe a little deeper: 

This, too, is God’s place…

Waves of change

There you are, steaming along, 

Making great progress, 

Enjoying the world as you pass on by, 

And then something happens, 

Or Life happens, 

And suddenly the journey’s not so smooth. 

How will you react? Resist? Or go with the flow? 

How can we stay centered, 

So we can withstand 

 The inevitable waves of change?

Striations in the sky

Like feathers on a wing, 

The clouds, uplifting, streak across the sky 

In colorful array, leaving me wondering 

 What weather pattern’s this?

 A high? A low? Incoming storms? 

What fluctuations — heat to cold, wet to dry — 

Result in such enjoyable striations in the sky?

Humbled in the face of beauty

What words could possibly add to, or convey 

 The drama of so magnificent a scene? 

How could we not be humbled 

By the beauty of this world?

Subtle nuances of beauty

When and why did we stop 

Adding these charming decorative touches 

To the buildings we created? 

Could it be laziness, or expediency? 

Or simply that our cities grew so big 

That it became more important 

To be bold and striking from afar 

Than to be delicately pleasing from the street? 

And we — what subtle nuances 

 Have we sacrificed in order to be seen 

By broader audiences? 

When did loud and bold 

 Become more popular than gentle, and kind?

Confronting the stranger

When confronted with a being 

Whose perspective and appearance 

Is completely different from your own, 

How do you respond? 

Are you curious? Are you shy? 

Do you hide behind the things that keep you safe,

 Or do you scamper away in fear? 

However you respond, it’s always a good idea 

To keep the things you have in common 

Clearly visible between you…