Becoming peace

What could possibly go wrong 

On a day that starts like this? 

That is not the question: 

We really should be asking 

How we can become this moment 

And carry it into the world, 

Bringing peace 

To all whose lives we touch?

Enraptured

An irresistible sunrise 

Pulled me out into the yard 

And across the lawn 

To the fragile edge of the cliff 

We’re told we’ll lose 

At some unnamed time 

In the hopefully distant future. 

But I can’t think of that now: 

I’m too enraptured 

By the colors in the sky.

Why?

Art can be so intriguing: 

Why would someone 

Build a phone booth 

Clad in cedar 

And fill it with 

 A meditative rabbit 

Pensively holding a phone? 

But then “Why?” 

Is a question I seem to be asking 

 All the time these days. 

Why?

Faces in the trees

Can you see the faces in the trees? 

To me, they look worried, 

As if they trusted us 

 To treasure and protect them, 

And they fear we may have failed.

 I fear the same…

Temporary losses

Pink and orange streaks 

Dance across an empurpled sky 

As an evening shared with family, 

Love, and laughter draws to a close. 

Yes, these are hard times: 

Illness and poverty the dark clouds 

Some must bear, and yet 

Affection and respect 

 Express themselves in teasing; 

The rosy edges that help lighten 

What we pray will prove to be 

Temporary losses.

On the fence

On close examination of this photo,

 You’ll discover

 That the reason this house can feature 

So many lovely flowers

 Is because they’re all protected From the deer’s depredations by a fence —

 A choice we have chosen not to make, 

Which leaves us largely flower- free.

Life’s interruptions

Life’s like this, from time to time, 

Like walking through a forest, dark and deep 

And then a patch of light appears, 

And maybe even something beautiful,

That doesn’t fit but somehow still belongs 

And cheers beyond all measure…