Something loftier

No matter what we’ve planted or built, 

The sky can always offer 

A magnificent counterpoint to the scene: 

A gentle reminder 

There’s always something loftier 

Than our immediate concerns…

Gossip

When word spreads there’s something to munch on, 

The gulls come flying in, just as 

When word spreads of misbehavior 

The gossips and press come flying in, 

Clamoring for the juiciest bits. 

Isn’t it amusing — and occasionally disturbing — 

How like the animals we are; 

How far we’ve come, yet still so close…

Lessons from a fawn

This image, of a fawn 

Attempting to chew a fig leaf, 

Triggers that phrase my mom used to use: 

Don’t bite off more than you can chew! 

Eventually she dropped the leaf 

And scurried away, leaving me wondering: 

What huge problems I can’t solve 

Could be broken down into more manageable pieces?

The Decisive Moment

Awakened in a bedroom awash with moonlight 

After a night of incessant rain,

 I rush downstairs to photograph the moon, 

 Now tucked between the clouds 

And blushing from the sun’s slow rise 

But first I must feed demanding cats, 

And by the time I’m done

The clouds have almost completely hidden 

The orb I’d hoped to capture 

And here’s all that’s left to see:

 Bresson’s Decisive Moment, gone again.

Autumn

Autumn, 

And the sunsets seem more subtle, 

Now the sun is disappearing behind the trees.

 We’ve moved on, and so has the sun,

 Stepping apart for a season or two; 

We’ll find some other source of heat 

To keep us warm til the sun returns 

Full strength again. 

Others may follow her south to warmer climes, 

But we’ll stay cool…

Keep holding on

I look at this old tree, 

Gritting its teeth and holding on, 

Supporting all those glorious branches, 

And am inspired: we can do this. 

We can — and will — keep holding on, 

Keep supporting those who need us to be strong, 

Gritting our teeth and powering through 

Despite whatever losses we’ve endured.

A network of dependencies

Each of us is carried through this life 

By a support system, 

 Though it may be virtually invisible 

To those whom it carries: 

There’s so much we depend upon — 

Water, electricity, 

 Our food, our fuel, the internet, 

Our roads, and the way the traffic moves — 

All built, delivered, or established 

By group efforts of folks we rarely see or know, 

Working together to meet the needs of many; 

A network of dependencies.