Cold, cold, cold

After a relatively warm winter, 

We had our first frost this morning: 

the tip of my garden Buddha’s head 

is covered with ice. 

It seems somehow appropriate;

 so many hearts left out in the cold today…

Into the echo chamber

Yesterday, disheartened 

by the recent changes in policy on FaceBook,

 I made the tough decision 

to stop posting these pieces there. 

I will miss that community 

of friends old and new from lives past and present, 

but I'm tired of being bombarded 

by ads i don't want for things I don't need, 

and I'm sad the restrictions 

 on lies and hate language have been taken away. 

I've been accused of moving to an echo chamber, 

but the only echoes I hope to hear 

are of kindness and compassion: 

may they continue to resonate throughout the earth.

I was so disheartened 

By the recent changes in Facebook policy 

that I decided to take flight. 

I will no longer be posting there, 

but you’ll still be able to find me here, 

and I’ve also begun posting on BlueSky 

as dwalkerarts; Hope we can stay connected!

Flame-red reminder

As the characteristic reds and greens 

Of Christmas slowly fade, 

We’re left to face again 

The subtle grays of winter: 

Of clouds and leafless trees, 

 Of icy streets and melting snow, 

The wisps of fog above the lakes, 

The smoke from stoves and fires 

And the ash they leave behind — 

And there it is again, flame-red reminder 

Of the monumental losses 

Being faced in California; 

The unfathomable magnitude of destruction.

Misconceptions

How is it that some ideas 

Get so embedded that we can’t let go, 

But seem to grow around them; 

Hold them closer to our hearts 

Until we confuse them with our souls? 

Even when they’re foreign to our nature, 

We hang on, clutching them like stones, 

Ready to hurl at the next unbeliever, 

In spite of everything that tells us 

There’s a chance we might possibly be wrong…

Symmetry

I remember, as a child, 

Arranging candles on the mantelpiece, 

And my artist mom coming to correct me,

 Moving two to one side and one to the other, 

Explaining that asymmetry is preferable 

To symmetry — an early version, I suspect,

 Of the rule of thirds I later learned — 

And yet, like many humans,

 I still am drawn to symmetry,

 In landscapes and in faces, 

And wonder if that rule exists 

To ensure that it sets art apart 

As different; a new way of seeing. 

So, though I understand the rule 

And use it to advantage, 

I still find scenes like this quite appealing😉

Losses too huge to process

With time we learn from the sun and moon 

That trouble, pain, and change are like the clouds: 

They may slide in and out again,

 Or they might stay for days, 

But for the most part they will pass 

And the good times come again. 

But how can we begin to process 

Losses of this magnitude, 

When so much has been taken, 

And so little left behind?