Lavender season

I couldn’t resist this drive-by shooting 

As I headed out of town yesterday morning. 

It’s lavender season here, 

And sometimes the plants are so amazing 

We don’t even notice the beauty of 

The manmade structures behind them…

Imagining more snow

After weeks of painting dark and gloom, 

A little burst of joy, 

Imagining a larger snowcap 

In our mountains than what’s fallen 

 To a mere 36% of its usual grandeur — 

Which means drought, already proclaimed for our state. Why bad news would inspire light 

I cannot claim to know, but still I’m grateful…

That undertone of sadness

The rhodies are blowsy with color, 

The lavender purples my view, 

The Queen Anne’s lace is sparkling, 

The golden chain has chained at last, 

The fawns are frolicking on the lawn, 

And even the sky is blooming with color, 

Why, then, this undertone of sadness?

Dual awareness

To hold both in your consciousness — 

The beauty that is near to hand 

And the beauty of the distant scene — 

Is practice for the challenge 

 Of comprehending simultaneously 

 Awareness of both the me that is your body 

And the me that is your inner aliveness, 

The spirit that animates that body. 

To know and rejoice in both 

Is to be whole and fully human.

First fawn

I watch with joy as the first fawn of the season 

Crosses my driveway with his tired-eyed mom, 

And I grow teary-eyed watching him nurse 

And romp about beneath my neighbor’s apple tree. Welcome to the world, Little One.

Peace offering

May the quiet peace of an early morning 

Fill your heart and restore your soul.

A call to justice

Some sunsets are simply irresistible: 

A sweeping, magnificent, breathtaking call 

To Hope, Faith, and belief 

That surely something 

Greater than ourselves 

Is capable of redemption; 

Restoration of the values 

Our forefathers worked so hard to put in place…