Friday, September 30, 2022

Minor annoyances


All those gorgeous colors 
In a picture that would be perfect 
Except for that distracting contrail —
 Or mightn’t it be true 
 That that irritating streak across the sky,
 Like other slight annoyances in our lives,
 Is what helps us to appreciate 
 The surrounding perfection?

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Gratitude


Find time today 
To look into the face of a flower: 
To revel in the scent, the colors, and the grace 
Of forms you had no part in creating; 
To let your heart be filled with gratitude 
For all the goodness and beauty in the world.

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

What lies before you


Be sure to notice them: 
Those rare quiet moments 
When there’s no one else around 
 To distract you with their actions, 
Expectations, or projections. 
Take a moment, in those times of peace,
 To listen for your heart’s desire 
And still the voices in your head 
That keep you from enjoying 
Whatever lies before you in the Now.

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

The path to healing


The path to healing — 
Whether you’re dealing with brokenness 
 Or simply seeking peace, or resolution, 
May well be long, with no clear end in sight, 
But each step you take, each day you make 
The hard choice, not the easy, 
Will bring you closer to your goal: 
Those of us who watch applaud your courage.

Monday, September 26, 2022

A walk at sunset


Take a walk at sunset, 
That golden hour when all the world takes pause 
To revel in the colors 
 Cast upon the sea and sky 
By the consummate artist 
Whose infinite creativity is the wellspring 
 Of all beauty humans bring into the world.

Sunday, September 25, 2022

When lyrics echo


Standing by a lighthouse, 
Looking at this stretch of beach,
 Littered as it is with driftwood,
 I hear, echoing in my brain, 
A song we learned in elementary school, 
Meant to instill in us a spirit of hospitality 
For those less fortunate than ourselves:
 “Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me”
(Words from Emma Lazarus’ poem, 
 The New Colossus, on the Statue of Liberty) 
Which, here, might end, 
“I lift my lamp beside this golden shore.”

Saturday, September 24, 2022

Behind the scenes


It’s funny: sometimes we get so focused 
On what we want to see 
 That we completely miss 
What’s going on behind the scene we’ve set…

Friday, September 23, 2022

Reflected in their eyes


I’m not a hunter, but I think sometimes 
Of the soldiers in the trenches 
In the two World Wars and elsewhere, 
Who are taught, “Don’t shoot 
Til you see the whites of their eyes.” 
It’s so much easier to be cruel 
To those whom we don’t know or understand, 
But so much harder — for most of us, at least — 
When we see ourselves 
 Reflected in their eyes.

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Reclaim your joy


Sometimes it’s the little things that bug you, 
But it’s easy to get so focused on them 
That we blow them out of proportion, 
And they end up looming so large 
We completely lose perspective. 
Take a moment today to step back 
And see the larger picture… and reclaim your joy!

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Sharing peace


Gilded, rosy in the morning sun, 
The cat sleeps quietly at my feet. 
I breathe in the peace and light 
And breathe it out again for all who struggle: 
Illness, surgery, loss, depression, war, fear — 
We are surrounded; overwhelmed — 
Yet still the cat sleeps on, 
Empurpled in light and love.

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Calla lily’s promise


As we age the losses grow: 
White calla lilies leave the garden, 
Falling onto caskets, into graves, 
But leave behind this unexpected 
Promise of new life, new friendships; 
A garden that will overflow again in spring.
 Love never dies, but comes again and multiplies: 
Lives lost leave love in their wake.

Monday, September 19, 2022

The safety of seclusion


After three years of living as islands, 
Desperately separate with all defenses up, 
It’s not surprising many of us are eager 
To launch ourselves back 
 Into the seas of society. 
And yet, having done so, 
Do we also find ourselves 
Happy to return to the safety of seclusion?

Sunday, September 18, 2022

Let it go


Let it go.
Let it wash away. 
It’s a new day; it’s a new week; 
And whatever leftover resentment you’re carrying? 
It needs to be released —
For your health and for the world’s. 
Let forgiveness be your challenge 
And the watchword of this day. 
Let it go.

Saturday, September 17, 2022

In celebration of presence


Each of us is so much more 
Than what we see reflected 
(And reversed) in a mirror. 
We are each complex composites 
 Of all we’ve seen and learned: 
The skies above, the grassy fields 
Or noisy streets we played on as a child;
 Our parents, whether angry, 
Supportive, detached or simply absent; 
Our companions, teachers, pets,
 The shows we watched and the wars we fought 
All blending in our hearts and minds 
Into one unique and wholly vital presence. 
Let’s celebrate that we are here!

Friday, September 16, 2022

Industry and Perseverance


Two words which may have gone out of fashion: 
Industry — in the sense of diligent labor — 
And perseverance, or as my dad would say, 
“Stick-to-it-iveness:” the willingness 
To see a task or challenge through to completion. 
These are rarely the easy choices, 
But often the most rewarding ones — 
Which can be hard to remember in this era 
Of sound bites and instantaneous responses.

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Praying for a break


For all those who are struggling to stay afloat, 
I am praying for a break in the clouds: 
Some sign to remind them 
They are safe, they are loved, 
And the current storms will soon pass away.

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Make time to rest


Make time to rest today: 
However magnificent your role or challenges, 
You’ll be better able to manage it all 
If you stop pressing forward and just breathe.

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Abundance of perfection


We marvel at the perfection of a flower 
Whose color, shape, and scent 
Seem magically designed to please 
 Our hungry eyes, and yet 
It’s only one of many, and might easily 
Go unappreciated among the profusion 
Of healthy blossoms on a bush, 
Made invisible by the generous abundance 
Of surrounding blooms. 
Like a lover presenting a single rose 
To a beloved, the photographer plucks 
And shares, but without destroying; 
Leaving the original to be discovered 
 Once again by passers-by.

Monday, September 12, 2022

Mourning a Queen


Not just a country, or a family, but a world 
In mourning for a loss indescribable.

Sunday, September 11, 2022

Dangerous divisions


After so wet and long a rainy spring, 
This long dry summer, and now the fires, 
As if to let us know how dangerous it is 
To be so divided; all one way or all the other. 
Nature cannot handle these harsh divisions, 
Nor can we: our politics, like our climate, 
Need to be more blended, 
Lest the wildfires consume us all.

Saturday, September 10, 2022

Magnificent adventure


There are those seminal moments in life, 
When you finally arrive at the crest of a hill 
After a long journey, and suddenly 
 All the future that lies before you is revealed. 
You may not see a clear path forward, 
And clearly there will be low spots, 
And more and higher hills to climb, 
But you’re once again inspired to stride forth; 
To take whatever steps are needed 
To reach the next stage 
 Of your uniquely magnificent adventure.

Friday, September 9, 2022

Volunteering


My neighbor used to call them volunteers — 
These unplanned plants that crop up 
In unexpected places, 
 Brought in by birds, or bees, or traveling roots — 
But seeing what delight they bring 
Reminds me to find time to do 
Some surprising kindness; to volunteer 
To brighten someone else’s day 
As these flowers brightened mine.

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Universal awe


Each day the clouds perform a different dance, 
Each day clothed in different shapes and colors,
 Inspiring us with their beauty, grace, 
And infinite originality, 
And everywhere, humans clothed 
In different shapes and colors, 
Thinking different thoughts, beliefs, 
 And facing different challenges, 
Stop, look up, and breathe 
A universal sigh of awe.

Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Late summer jewels


As summer slowly fades into fall, 
Drink in what jeweled colors 
Still ignite the gardens that you pass 
And store them up to feast on 
When the grays of winter start to get you down.

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Beneath it all


No matter how cluttered 
 And complex life may become, 
Beneath it all 
The steady stream of love runs true, 
Nourishing everything in its path.

Monday, September 5, 2022

Valuing what’s present


"Age cannot wither her, 
Nor custom stale her infinite variety.” 
Appreciate what lies before you, 
For such appreciation blesses 
Both the beholder and the beheld.

Sunday, September 4, 2022

Breathe


Breathe in the light,
 Breathe in again, 
And feel your heart expand.

Saturday, September 3, 2022

Non-conformity


Ah, the contortions we go through, 
To fit into the molds 
 We believe we’re meant to fill, 
When we could, like the trees, 
Take on the shapes 
 That we were born to, 
And challenged to discover, 
Delighting and enlightening the world 
 With our unique individuality.

Friday, September 2, 2022

The invisible beneath


Each delicate strand of the spider’s web 
Made iridescent by the fog, 
Whose gray haze masks 
So much of what we’re used to seeing, 
While highlighting what might otherwise 
 Have been totally imperceptible. 
Perhaps that is the job of both love and art: 
To ignore what is most obvious 
And celebrate the invisible beneath.

Thursday, September 1, 2022

Inciting imagination


What I love about abstract art 
Is the way that it excites imaginations. 
I showed this one to friends yesterday 
And they saw, in turns, the following: 
Film, a fish, a transistor radio, 
A TV set, a fence, smoke, and a city. 
What fun, to spark so lively a discussion!