Friday, March 31, 2023

The emptiness of loss


Endings can be challenging— 
Especially when we look beyond the known 
But cannot see what happens next, 
Only the twisted remains of the hopes and needs 
That brought us to this point. 
How can we safely grieve what’s gone before 
When now feels like a prison 
And tomorrow has no name 
And holds no promise but the emptiness of loss?

Thursday, March 30, 2023

A testament of faith


Each year, this pink house with its pink tree 
 Makes me smile as I drive by. 
And for all the 51 weeks that the tree isn’t pink, 
The house waits in anticipation of perfection, 
Offering its rosy cheeks 
 Through the gray and the rain 
As a testament of faith, knowing 
 Spring will come again.

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Blushing madrona


My Madrona blushes rosily 
In the late evening sun, 
Her branches raised in ecstatic embrace, 
Welcoming the warmth and light.

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Sunrise dreams


It’s such a gift, to awaken to the light,
 The daffodils, the dawn, 
The mountain in its gilded repose; 
To set aside, however briefly, 
The worries of the world and dream of peace.

Monday, March 27, 2023

Generosity


Imagine if all humans 
Were as generous as nature, 
Pouring their gifts into the world 
Without reservation, trusting against all odds 
That something, some day, might bear fruit; 
Sparing no effort in hopes that might be true.

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Misleading assumptions


Things aren’t always what they seem, 
And assumptions based 
 On what we think we know 
Can be heart-breakingly misleading. 
“See something? Say something!” 
Is the slogan of a state under siege: 
See something? Look more closely, 
And look with an open heart: 
What you learn from looking might surprise you.

Saturday, March 25, 2023

Welcoming spring


As we welcome the first daffodils of spring, 
Our hearts begin to soar 
At the thought of warmer days, and sunshine…

Friday, March 24, 2023

Seeing through the shadows


Wherever there is light 
There will be shadows. 
Our mission is to see through 
Our shadows to the truth that lies beneath, 
However troubling or awkward it might be.

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Fed by the light


Fed by the light that shines on us, 
May we in turn bless and protect, 
 And guide the world 
With the light that shines through us.

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Rosy smiles of dawn


After days of clouds, the sky clears again,
 Parting to reveal the mountain 
That hovers in the distance, 
Wreathed today in rosy smiles of dawn, 
As if to welcome spring.

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Spring


Come sit with me 
Beneath the newly flowered tree, 
And linger while we wait for fruit to form 
And drop into our waiting hands and mouths 
Like truth, delivered from above; 
Manna from heaven sent 
To soothe our souls, so hungry for 
 Reminders that there’s hope, and life, and love 
Just waiting to rain down on all 
Who trust, and take the time to breathe 
The rosy scent of being.

Monday, March 20, 2023

Looking back at simpler times


How often, in our inflated inflatable lives, 
Do we look back and long for simpler times, 
When all we had, we needed, and could afford 
Were the bare necessities 
Essential to stay afloat:
 A sponge to clean, a bucket to bail, 
A rope to keep us safely tied, 
And oars to help move forward 
 When the time came to move on.

Sunday, March 19, 2023

Gratitude


Some days, the gratitude is overwhelming: 
For the return of spring and sunlight; 
For the mountains and the sea; 
For all those who went before us, 
Building lighthouses to protect us, 
And manning them in the dark and storms; 
For the grass and sand beneath my feet, 
The friends who join us on this walk, 
And the raucous cries of the gulls — 
Breathe deep and drink the salted air 
Of gratefulness.

Saturday, March 18, 2023

Subsistence


As I drive by this glorious view — 
This fence, this field, that barn, those trees,
 Those fabulous mountains —
 I wonder what it’s like to live off the land:
 Impoverished, but surrounded 
 By natural splendor; tied to and governed by 
The vicissitudes of nature and the territory 
 Even as its beauty feeds our souls. 
My father-in-law grew up on a farm like that, 
 And left as soon as he was able. 
How will our children, 
Genetically drawn to that way of life, 
Manage the internal push and pull 
Between the longing for a simpler existence 
 And the drive to succeed and survive?

Friday, March 17, 2023

Ignition


Yesterday, I noticed on our daily evening walk 
That the sun had finally worked her way 
Around again (I know: it’s not her movement 
But our own) to that corner of the sky 
Where we can watch her as she sets, 
And so I grabbed my camera 
And hurried to the corner of our lawn 
That’s best for viewing, 
 Only to arrive just as she slipped 
 Below the horizon, as if she were a teacher,
 Or an artist, or an angry politician,
 Igniting all the crowd of clouds or lives 
 Her bold light touched 
 Even as she disappeared from view.

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Sprouting


At first, I was weirded out, 
To slice open this tomato
 (Which we left out on the counter because 
Our daughter says it’s wrong 
To put them in the fridge) 
And see what looked, at first glance, like worms. 
But then, upon realizing they were sprouts 
 (I’d never seen this before; have you?)
 It was like, ooh! Extra crunch! Extra nutrition! 
And so beautiful!
 I was torn between planting it and eating it, 
But eating won: it was delicious, 
And I like to think of all those sprouting seeds 
Sprouting inside me, like ideas, 
Like new growth, new opportunities for joy…

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

No hiding


There will, of course, be times, 
When it feels expedient 
 To hide who you really are 
And what you’re really thinking, 
But chances are you’re seen and known anyway. 
Perhaps it’s time to let us see 
The unique gift you were born to be.

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Wake up!


I forgot to set the clocks ahead 
And almost missed a coffee date. And now, 
 When I should have been cooking dinner,
 I’m staring out the window as I type, 
Distracted by a first stray daffodil 
Glowing bright among the dried out stalks 
Of lavender and ferns. 

Watching as my winter lawn turns golden 
In the late afternoon, I wonder:
 It’s so bright outside. How did it get so late?
 Clearly the time has changed: 
 All nature sings Wake up!

Monday, March 13, 2023

Bridge people


Today I lift a song in praise of bridge people: 
Not just the visionaries and engineers 
 Who imagine, design, and build 
Connections that allow us access 
Across previously insurmountable barriers, 
But the individuals who choose to reach across 
And connect; who value collaboration,
 Communication, and community more 
Than their own beliefs and prejudices 
Or party affiliations; the ones who understand 
A multiplicity of perspectives can produce 
More effective and considerate solutions.

Sunday, March 12, 2023

That sinking feeling


That sinking feeling, when you realize 
 You may have taken a wrong turn; 
That there’s no way back; that forward, 
 Though there’s no clear end in sight, 
Is your only possible option.
 Because the road before you is not well-traveled, 
And if anything goes wrong,
Rescue may be a remote possibility, 
It becomes a test of faith: 
Can you continue to trust 
That you were brought here for a reason; 
That you are always loved, 
 And never, ever, alone?

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Reframing the past


Some wounds will always be there.
 Some losses are impossible to forget. 
And yet — time has a way of softening the edges; 
Of framing those traumatic events 
In ways that make them easier to bear— 
And sometimes even allowing them 
To feed and fuel new life.

Friday, March 10, 2023

Perfect imperfections


Nature — if we pay attention — 
Has a way of reminding us 
We don’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. 
The snow atop our heads 
 Need not be purely white, 
Our clothes and lives might be in disarray, 
The contrast between our intentions 
And our accomplishments almost glaring, 
Yet there’s something so appealing— 
Even lovable — in our perfect imperfections.

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Adaptations


Ah, the contortions we go through 
 In our efforts, on the one hand, to fit in, 
And, on the other, to resist and to withstand 
The challenges and changes 
 Being tossed at us, like wind, 
Until we bend or break before the onslaught — 
And yet, there’s beauty 
In the twists and turns life takes along the way, 
And opportunities for growth in new directions: 
Whenever our perspective shifts, 
We have the chance to see and trace new paths.

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

The home in your heart


The invitation is always there: 
The steps are waiting for you to climb; 
The guarantee that you’ll be welcome,
 And have it — this home in your heart — 
All to yourself; a place where you will always find 
Rest, relief, and release; 
A shelter from whatever storms 
Are lurking in the clouds. 
Come inside. Sit. Breathe. 
And know that — here, at least — 
You will never be alone; you’ll always belong.

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Managing transitions


That moment, 
When we know something has to change, 
But we also know we have to manage 
The transition very carefully, 
Lest we slip and slide off our chosen path, 
Headed for a crash. 
Full attention, total presence, hyper-awareness 
Are our survival tools — 
Not to mention a very gentle touch 
On both the brake and the accelerator…

Monday, March 6, 2023

Patience


Something about the way 
He waits so patiently in the marsh 
For dinner to appear stirs our hearts.
We, who’ve always gone after what we need, 
Now learn to wait, and let whatever’s coming 
Make its way into our lives 
While we wait, breathing and appreciating 
 Whatever joy we find in the moment.

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Capturing the ribbon of light


Lured by the moon, 
I step into the darkness, 
Carefully making my way 
Across the pockmarked lawn 
To shelter beneath the tree at the edge of the cliff.
 Leaning into her trunk to hold my camera steady,
 I shoot, and shoot, and shoot again, 
Watching as the tiny bars march across my screen, 
Hoping to capture that ribbon of light 
Before the pale moon sinks behind a cloud 
Or into the sea.

Saturday, March 4, 2023

Alone or together


Seeing this, 
This isolated home, 
Separated from community 
By the lake at its front 
And the mountains at its back,
 I think of CS Lewis and The Great Divorce, 
Where he arrives in Hell only to find 
Folks continuing to move farther and farther away 
 From each other.
 I know that tendency in myself— 
The longing for solitude — 
But at the same time I’m aware 
Of the great joy I find in human interactions.
 It’s one of our great challenges, isn’t it, 
To find a satisfactory balance 
Between the need to be alone 
And the joy of loving and being loved…

Friday, March 3, 2023

Make time to explore


There are paths that you may see 
On the way to somewhere else 
That look appealing, 
 But you’re too busy to pursue. 
When will you slow down enough 
To consider making time to explore? 
Who knows what marvelous options 
Might await you, just around the corner?

Thursday, March 2, 2023

Unlocking doors


When young, life was about opening doors;
Unlocking new opportunities, 
Discovering new places to exert our gifts. 
But with age comes acceptance — 
Which might look like defeat — 
That there are some doors that will remain closed,
 Either because we’ve lost the urge 
 Or the power to break through them, 
Or because we have discovered that 
What gifts and strengths we have might be 
More productively — and easily — 
 Applied elsewhere; 
That time spent struggling with barriers 
 Might instead be spent creating, 
Teaching, or encouraging, 
 Or helping countless others to find the key…

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Framing a life


Just as the suggestion of a frame 
Adds depth and appeal to a photo, 
So can gently framed boundaries 
Add richness to relationships, 
Reducing distractions and allowing us to focus 
On what we might be building 
 And where we might be going together.