As skies grow gray

As skies grow gray and the winds grow cold, 

We seek other ways to fill our lives 

With warmth and color...

Let goodness shine

Awakening late this morning 

After a night of troubled sleep,

 I wander into the kitchen for coffee 

And see the mountain,

 Glowing in the distance 

Despite the cloud cover and the rain, 

Inspiring hope in my troubled breast.

 Let goodness shine like the mountain, 

Cries my heart: 

Let goodness shine!

Dark clouds ahead

How many of us lie awake at night 

Worrying about the coming storms? 

So many warnings come throughout the day— 

Of weather, war, of risk, and retributions… 

The clouds ahead are dark, and thickening fast, 

But still we trust, and continue to move forward.

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.