Reliance

Morning, 

And the ferries ply their trade 

Among the islands of the north, 

Carrying children to their schools 

And commuters to their jobs 

While others seek vacations 

Or must travel for medical care. 

And all the travelers rely upon 

A handful of workers 

Who rise early and work overtime, 

That the ferries might run safely, 

And on time.

In black and white

Some scenes just render better In black and white, 

Just like some answers are true or false. 

That said, those shades of gray can add 

A revealing complexity in both photos and decisions: 

Be wary of judgments 

That don’t take them into consideration.

Hard Choices

Conditioned by one of the worst 

Wildfire seasons in our state’s history, 

I assumed this plume of smoke 

Seen from a distant island 

Meant we weren’t done yet, 

Despite the recent rains, 

But no, it’s just our paper mill, 

Which, these days, is a burning issue, 

But that’s a fire of a different sort, 

In which attempts to protect the lives of workers 

 May mean risking their jobs. Hard choices…

Contradiction

What is it about us humans, 

That we treasure the opportunity 

 To collect that which is rare

 (Like waiting for this light to turn red 

When it mostly glows white) 

Yet are so quick to demonize 

Whichever folks are rarest 

In our communities; 

To pound down whichever nails 

Appear to stick up or stand out?

This island life

It seems idyllic, this island life; 

To sail amid the gulls and whales 

And live the quiet rural life 

Away from the busyness and noise 

Distractions and demands the city brings, 

Until the disadvantages — 

The lack of jobs and health care 

And other limitations 

 That can complicate island existence — 

Begin to overwhelm the joys: 

 What then?

Try a little tenderness

I watch the tenderness of the doe 

With her now five-month-old fawn 

And it awakens the same tenderness in me 

That I feel watching my daughter 

With her new kittens, replacements 

After her beloved old tabby passed: 

That longing to see humanity 

Caring for other humans 

As thoughtfully and gently 

As we care for our pets.

Loving fog

I love the otherworldliness of fog; 

I always have: the way 

 The inconsequential becomes mystical 

And distracting backgrounds disappear, 

And how I always seem to have that beauty 

All to myself, while the rest of the world 

Shelters indoors...