Sunday, July 31, 2022

Rest and restore


Let today be a day 
Where you and your troubles 
Find a place in the shade 
Beside still waters 
To rest, and restore your soul.

Saturday, July 30, 2022

Open to the light


Like the daisies, 
 We need to open our hearts to the light…

Friday, July 29, 2022

Time to release


All too clearly, we remember 
Cutting things that were said. 
Those painful words lie gathering rust 
On the shelves of our souls: 
Perhaps it’s time to recycle them; 
Let them teach us what we needed 
To learn about ourselves, 
Then blunt their edges 
 And release them — let it go, let it go.

Thursday, July 28, 2022

Beneath the skin


We are, each of us, such complex beings, 
And so often unaware 
That beneath the wounds and scars 
That color our personalities 
We might find a different color altogether.
 What if we were to peel 
Our prejudicial assumptions back? 
Could we learn to trust again,
 Or would the vulnerability prove our undoing?

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

What resonates?


What is it about this image 
That awakens an echo, deep within? 
So many possibilities… 
Stop, look, and listen to your heart: 
What resonates? 
 What is it that you’re craving?

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Surviving on the edge


If you have ever wondered 
Why those folks who used to be your friends 
Are clinging so intensely to assumptions 
That seem one step from disastrous, 
Just be aware that the only way to survive 
In so challenging an environment 
Is for them to be really really deeply rooted. 
To question anything might feel life-threatening.

Monday, July 25, 2022

Perspectives and opportunities


Whether you are inside looking out
Or outside looking in
May depend more on context and perspective
Than on actual exclusion.
Both offer opportunities for learning.

Sunday, July 24, 2022

Time to rest


Imagine yourself to be lying 
In a field fragrant with lavender, 
Looking up at a blue sky peopled 
With fluffy clouds in exotic shapes. 
Breathe deeply, and rejoice: 
Another week is done and it’s time to rest.

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Independent thinkers


In a topsy turvey higgledy piggledy world, 
Where all the grays seem to be evolving 
Into black and white 
We bravely fly our flag 
Of independent both/and thinking 
In an earnest effort to hold it all together.

Friday, July 22, 2022

The spirit within


Just as the lighthouse, shrouded in fog, 
Still sends and sounds her beacon of safety,
 The loving spirit that brought us here 
Continues to reside within us, 
Offering its guidance when we need it — 
If we listen.

Thursday, July 21, 2022

An echo of stillness


Who needs a crown of gold and jewels, 
A fancy car or mega yacht? 
Give me the simple pleasure 
Of a clean white boat on a still blue sea: 
The clarity of those perfectly reflected lines 
Awakens a calming echo of stillness 
Within my troubled heart.

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Beauty as we age


Even as age slowly leaches 
Color from these petals, 
 They continue in their mission of beauty. 
Do not assume, when glory fades, 
That nothing’s left behind: 
As the subtle striations of character are exposed, 
We find they have an appeal that’s all their own.

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

The gift of contrast


Dark shadows frame the dying light,
A tracery of black against 
The colors of the sky. 
So, too, the darker moments and events 
Of our lives provide a framework 
That enhances our appreciation 
Of all that’s good and beautiful in life.

Monday, July 18, 2022

Resonance


Beach roses joyfully announce 
 Summer’s arrival; 
Each day some new pink blooms, 
Replace the old, then quickly pass away 
Until there are none left to bloom, 
The bushes green again with loss 
Until we realize each one-day wonder 
Leaves behind its fruit to slowly redden, 
And where before we only saw, each day, 
A single flower, now there are clusters 
 Of glory, ripening rosily among the branches,
 Reminding us a single moment, gone, 
May leave behind effects 
Whose resonance is multiplied 
 In unexpected ways.

Sunday, July 17, 2022

Sharing the sunrise


Why is it that the sunrise 
 Gives us so much pleasure? 
Is it the light? The color? 
The promise of a new day? 
The ever changing patterns in the clouds? 
Whatever the reason, it feels like a blessing, 
And one we are delighted to be sharing 
With all those who are awake.

Saturday, July 16, 2022

A long time coming to fruition


After a long wet spring, 
Our cherries have finally begun to ripen 
But they look a little bruised, 
As if the long birth process 
Has left them a little damaged. 
We, too, when things don’t come to fruition 
 As quickly as we’d hoped, 
Can begin to feel a little beaten by the process, 
But no worries: in the end, 
The results will still be sweet!

Friday, July 15, 2022

Awakened by a poem


Perhaps in longing for You 
 I lost my place. 
My feet fell out of the sky, 
And now I’m on my knees, 
Peering through these branches at the moon; 
Wondering what might have been, if only…

Thursday, July 14, 2022

Connection to the deep


Low tide, and the boats 
Are safely anchored far from shore, 
Lest they founder on the rocks 
When the wind begins to rise. 
We, too, with time, have come to learn
That connection to the deep within 
Can offer more stability in rough weather.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

In gratitude


The colors of the sunset 
Have their echoes in my garden: 
Each new day, a sweet surprise.
 So grateful for whoever planted these…

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

What we see


So much of what we see — or think we see — 
Is conditioned by experience and expectations, 
Which means our observations and opinions 
Are always colored by the filters 
Through which we view the world. 
And so where I might see a continent 
Torn apart by dissension, 
You might see a fish, or a horse, running free,
Or something else altogether.
Which is why I paint without intention 
And allow the painting to shape itself 
On the chance it might have different messages 
For different viewers.

Monday, July 11, 2022

Time to break away


Yes. This is one of those precious days; 
An opportunity for you to break away. 
Grab your paddle and push that canoe 
 Out into the water, take off your shoes, 
Step in, and seat yourself, 
 And glide off into the blue, 
If only in your dreams: 
It’s time to be free-floating 
In something other than anxiety.

Sunday, July 10, 2022

People of faith


There are those of us who continue, 
Despite the threat of coming storms, 
To appreciate what’s left of a sunny outlook; 
Who stay the course, basking 
In the last of the light, 
And trust that the worst will blow over. 
The world may call us optimistic fools; Pollyannas, 
But we know ourselves to be people of faith.

Saturday, July 9, 2022

Humbled by the majesty


Who would not be humbled by the majesty 
Offered to us each evening 
On the platter of the sky? 
Stop. Sit. Breathe. 
Let the colors wash over you 
And be filled with gratitude.

Friday, July 8, 2022

Shared experience


We watch from our ferry, heading home, 
As another ferry passes, heading back 
To the port from whence we came, 
Bearing people — some back home, 
Some to work, some for visits, 
 Some for dinner or to theaters— 
So many humans living so many lives, 
Each carried safely to and fro 
By a mostly invisible crew, 
All grateful now to be out, about, and employed 
After the long CoVid hiatus. 
I wish this experience we’ve all shared 
Had somehow brought us closer...

Thursday, July 7, 2022

Blessing, undeserved


Our calla lilies spread themselves 
Across the length of two gardens, 
Their pure, serene faces beaming 
And their wide leaves fanning out to cup the rain 
As we finally tiptoe into summer — 
A blessing, like so many, 
We’ve done little to cultivate or deserve…

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Perils of perfectionism


Yes, it’s just a trick of the light, to be sure, 
But if I correct the perspective 
 Of the lighthouse in this photo, 
That amazing cloud slides right out 
 Of the frame — and isn’t that just like life? 
You try to correct one thing 
And risk losing something else — 
A frequent side effect, I find, 
Of the quest for perfection. 
In so many arenas — organizations, our homes, 
Communities, and especially as parents — 
We need to strike a balance between 
Constantly pushing for improvement 
 And appreciating what is, here and now.

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Assumptions


I cannot know what my cat thinks 
As she watches the birds so intently: 
She could be wishing to chase and play, 
Or longing to catch and eat, 
Or simply wishing she could fly 
Free among the branches, and on the wind. 
She might not be looking at the birds at all, 
But eyeing a squirrel in the tall grass 
Over by the fence. 
Is she grateful for the glass that keeps her safe, 
Or does she resent it, and wish that it were gone? 
Though we learn to make assumptions, 
We can never know another’s thoughts 
 For sure unless they tell us and we listen, 
Any more than we can understand 
Our own motivations unless we stop 
And ask ourselves, and make time to listen…

Monday, July 4, 2022

Declare your independence


To declare our independence 
 Is to say that we have value, and are more than: 
More than subjects, objects, or slaves; 
More than our imperfections and insecurities; 
More than what we have or haven’t accomplished; 
More than our diseases or disabilities; 
More than where we live or what we own; 
More than what we were taught to believe; 
More than our heritage, our nationality,
Or the color of our skin; 
More than all the shoulds and the illusions 
That keep us from becoming our fullest selves. 
From what will you now declare 
 Your independence?

Sunday, July 3, 2022

Patience rewarded


When we first moved in, we weren’t aware 
This rose bush even existed: 
She’d climbed up into a holly tree, 
And what blooms she had 
 Were hidden in its branches, 
 Twenty feet above the ground. 
A wise and kindly gardener 
 Noticed a few telltale petals 
 That had fallen to the grass, and cut her back; 
There were no promises she’d survive. 
The next year we found foot-high sprouts 
Spread throughout the garden, 
But no blooms. In an act of faith, 
We put a fence around them all 
To protect them from the deer, 
And this year she has rewarded us 
 With a garden full of blossoms — 
A gentle reminder that the three P’s — 
Pruning, Protection, and, above all, Patience — 
May be vital components for healthy growth.

Saturday, July 2, 2022

Past supporting future


I love the way that last year’s leaves 
Create a perfect frame for the leaves to come. 
I’d like to think that life works that way, too; 
Not just that we who are parents do our best 
To create a healthy framework 
In which our children might grow 
 To their best selves, 
But that all that’s gone before in our lives 
Serves to foster and support 
 What’s now and new and growing into being.

Friday, July 1, 2022

Try getting closer


That which, from a distance, 
Was just a narrow strip of color 
Between two clouds 
Becomes a glorious tapestry 
When brought closer
 Through the magic of a telephoto lens — 
Just as a group of people, perhaps 
A different race or nationality, 
Might seem to become more human, 
More appreciated, if we come closer; 
Get to know them as individuals.
 A cliche, I suppose, but how else 
Can we encourage and inspire folks 
To stop treating others 
As somehow less than human?