Promise in the light

Those rays of light you see? 

They are a promise: 

That however many clouds darken your sky, 

There will always be light beyond them, 

A light greater and stronger than any cloud, 

Waiting to fill your heart and life 

With hope and opportunity.

Post-prandial Cleanliness

This hawk seems to have discovered 

That our feeders and the deer 

Attract a lot of small birds, 

So he hangs out in a tree and swoops 

 Across the yard from time to time 

To grab a tasty snack. 

Apparently he likes to wash up after dinner…

Consequences

If you can, look beyond the deer, and count 

The thirteen tiny birds that cluster at his feet, 

And watch them dog his every step, 

Fluttering round his antlers 

 And then dropping to the ground to feast 

On all the tiny bugs released 

By the trampling of his hooves. 

Like the deer, each step we take 

May have unforeseen consequences; 

Every action, some reaction: 

We are all more connected than we know.

Catwatch

My two cats watch 

As a bird that hit the window 

Takes her time recovering on the deck; 

All their attention focused 

As they wait for her next move. 

We, too, watch, and cheer 

 When she lifts her wings 

And flies away to safety: 

Even so small a creature deserves to live.

Projections

Whatever I observe in passing 

Is primarily a reflection 

Of where I am at the time of observation. 

How, then, can I presume to know 

Where you are going, 

 Or what lies within 

That highly reflective exterior? 

It might be fun to imagine or assume, 

But best to simply wish you well on your journey.

Sedimentary responses

Our response to those behaviors we observe, 

The ones that often irritate or delight us, 

May well be fueled, 

 Not by the behaviors themselves, 

But by our own internal sediments: 

Layer upon layers of sentiment, 

Masking, mounding over, or protecting us 

From some long-ago landslide experience 

 Of ecstasy or pain.

Cast your light

Each time we allow our inner light to shine, 

The beam it casts wil enlighten 

A far larger space than we might have imagined.

 So do not fear, but cast your light 

Upon the waters that surround us, 

That others might also find their way home.

Now and then

Just around the corner, 

We can see, peeking out, our destination: 

That place we’re so determined to go; 

That objective we’re determined to achieve, 

Haunting us with its almost-thereness — 

Which is fine, but let us not ignore 

What lies between, what lies here, 

Immediately before us: 

The sun, sparkling on the water; 

The scent of passing evergreens; 

The harsh cries of the gulls…

Love is all around us

When the heart is full 

We seem to see love 

Everywhere we look…

Fantasia

Cloud fingers reach across the sky 

To warm themselves 

 With the heat of the dying sun.

What we see

Wherever we look, we have the choice 

To see beauty or destruction; 

To feel, echoing within us, 

The ache of wounds unhealed by time 

Or to wonder at magnificence; 

The unstudied complexity 

 And loveliness of a life well-lived 

Despite all the inevitable 

Depredations and imperfections.

Inhibition

Too often, as an artist, I imagine there’s a “They;” 

Some high triumvirate somewhere, 

Sitting in judgment, never pleased,

 Critical of all I say and do — 

Echoes, I suspect, of a critical parent, 

Always driving me to seek approval 

Instead of acting from the confidence 

Of unconditioned love.

Complexity of life

Like the clouds in the sky, 

Life has many textures: 

Moments of clarity mix inevitably 

 With times when all seems cloudy and confused; 

Days when all seems lit with color, 

And others when we’re overwhelmed 

With the gray and the dark. 

Just remember: the balance is always shifting, 

Even if the pace of change 

 Seems interminably slow, 

And every moment we’re still here to see it 

Is a gift.

Dancing the future

We dance together 

In concert with Spirit, 

Each graceful movement

 A reflection of inspiration 

Burning bright among the branches; 

Together framing a path 

For futures yet unknown.

Bridging

Why is it that we’re so willing 

To take the time, ingenuity, and energy 

To build bridges over rushing waters, 

Yet unwilling to invest in bridges 

Between ourselves and other, 

Different-thinking, humans?

How best to respond

There will always be folks 

Who ask or expect something from you. 

Your job is to consider, 

Not just what’s easiest or most fun 

 For you to give, 

But what might be best for them — 

Which means opening yourself, 

And listening more broadly for what’s true.

Gossip and exclusion

So much of gossip centers around 

Issues of inclusion and exclusion,

 And who’s in or out often depends 

On who can squawk the loudest: 

Surely the differences between us 

Are neither that great nor that critical.

Reframing the issues

So much of what we choose to see 

Depends on where we stand 

And if we’re willing to move. 

A few steps to the right or left 

Might totally reframe the issues 

And offer a quite different perspective 

 On the challenges we’re facing.

Consider the lilies

Consider the lilies: 

They toil not; neither do they spin, 

Yet Solomon in all his glory 

Was not arrayed like one of these…

Leavening the darkness

Over time we learn to trust 

That light and color will always find a way 

To leaven the darkness — 

Even as we learn there is no perfection 

That will not be leavened with imperfection. 

Infinite opportunities to rejoice or complain:

 Which you choose both affects and reflects 

How your day is going.

Celebrating enthusiasm

After so wet a spring, 

Many of our trees are refusing to bear fruit. 

But this one, which was damaged 

 And disrupted two years ago 

When our drain field was replaced, 

Is so excited to bear fruit again 

It seems to pour more sweetness in 

Than the fragile skins can contain, 

Like a child with too much bubble gum, 

Whose bubbles burst, covering her cheeks…

Grasping the moon

Above the trees,

Cloud fingers gently grasp the moon, 

As if to say, “Don’t fall, dear one, don’t fall; 

This torn and broken world needs your light.”

Enjoying the Now

With a cat on my lap, I’m choosing not to move, 

So I’m shooting the sunrise over my shoulder — 

And then the fog rolls in, and it’s gone, 

As if to say, “This, too, shall pass,” 

Reminding us emotions, too, and pain, 

And situations, seasons, years — all pass, 

And soon the cat will leave my lap 

To chase a bug or tussle with his sister. 

Enjoy whatever’s now: appreciate 

The warmth of cat, 

The foghorns blaring in the distance, 

The comfort of an old familiar chair,

 A tasty cup of coffee, 

 Cooling in the morning breeze.

On boundaries

Wherever we are, no matter how comfortable, 

It’s natural to be curious 

 About what lies beyond our borders. 

That which protects us has often been set up mBy those who are wiser, more experienced, 

But not always. The ability to discern 

Which boundaries should be surmounted, 

And when, and which are better left in place 

Is an essential component of wisdom…

Breathe out love

Set it aside, this knowing —

 That somewhere there are soldiers fighting; 

Somewhere there are children starving; 

Somewhere there are wildfires burning, 

So much darkness in the world — 

How can we go on? 

Set it aside, just for a moment, and breathe: 

Breathe in all the pain, the suffering and fear, 

And breathe out what hope and light 

You have to share. 

 Breathe out love: 

 The world is in dire need of love.

Let there be light

May whatever clouds lie on your horizon 

Be thin enough to let the light shine through.

Linked together

Yes, there is a long road before us, 

But we will not falter on the journey, 

Knowing we are all linked together 

In the silence of our ever-expanding hearts.

The divine dance

Always seeking 

The threads that unite us 

In the divine dance of creation

Infinite resourcefulness

The infinite complexity of sea, land, and sky 

Offers a reminder of the infinite nature 

Of our own inner resources. 

Trust. 

 Breathe. 

 You have everything it takes to get through this.

Distracting mirages

It’s possible that what we perceive 

 As zigzags in the path to our destination 

Are just illusions, given definition 

 By the currents of our thoughts 

 And the clouds of our emotions. 

Stay the course with a steady hand, 

Keeping focus on your objective: 

Don’t allow the mirages to distract you.

Wake up!

Wake up, wake up! The August sun 

 Is casting morning shadows on the barn: 

Only a month of summer left, 

And so much must be done before 

Autumnal colors ignite the trees.