Friday, May 31, 2024

The weight of care


As we chug along this lonely sea,
 Tugging our past and cares behind us, 
May we be as conscious 
 Of the beauty that surrounds us 
As we are of the weight of our burdens…

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Daisy season


It’s daisy season here, and everywhere we look, 
The fields are dusted with white, 
As if to remind us: winter will return — 
Enjoy the sun!

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Crimson promise


After days of rain, a rainbow, 
Posted right at sunset, 
Glowing red in the reflections, 
Enfolding our neighbor’s farm 
In a crimson embrace of light. 
Breathe deep, and breathe again; breathe in 
The eternal promise: it will be okay, 
And you are loved.

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

The sky’s embrace


As we make our lonely way 
Across the sea of change, 
Take comfort from the beauty 
Of the endlessly evolving sea and sky — 
Never the same from one minute to the next, 
And yet consistent in their embrace 
Of the earth around us.

Monday, May 27, 2024

Let it go


There’s something reassuring about 
About a garden that responds to neglect 
With such exuberance: 
It serves as a gentle reminder 
 That I don’t always have to be in control 
For things to turn out well…

Sunday, May 26, 2024

Golden afternoon


Waves of gold, 
Crashing across the verdant shore — 
A soothing Sunday sight!

Saturday, May 25, 2024

Open to reflection


It’s easy to feel small and vulnerable 
When there are huge clouds looming over us, 
But they can feel less threatening 
 If we open ourselves up to reflection.



Friday, May 24, 2024

Fawns frolic


I love this time of year, 
When the rhodies bloom, 
The lavender fills the air with purple scents, 
The figs begin to green and swell, 
And the fawns come frolic in our yard…

Thursday, May 23, 2024

Fierce abundance


Instead of looking west at sunset, 
Try looking east, 
Away from all the drama that’s predictable, 
To the subtle possibilities inherent 
In a life that isn’t lived center stage, 
But quietly enjoyed, even — however briefly —
 Radiant, with the fierce abundance of love.

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Don’t give up hope


Rain fell all day, 
Tears streaking down the windows, 
And at sunset the reality sets in: 
This may be my life today, 
Yet still, the sun is shining through the clouds. 
Tomorrow may be different 
 Or more of the same, but still 
The sun will be there, shining behind the clouds: 
Don’t give up hope.

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Choices


At some point we will be forced to realize 
Severe decrepitude has set in, 
And nothing short of major renovation 
Will enable this old barn to continue. 
And then the choice arises: 
Do we shore it up, take it down and replace,
Or let it slowly sink to the ground? 
What opportunities arise, and what is lost 
With each of our available options? 
And what do the choices we make 
Say about who we are?

Monday, May 20, 2024

The coming storm


You might not want to get so busy 
Taking care of your own needs 
That you miss all the signs of the coming storm; 
The one that will affect us all…

Sunday, May 19, 2024

The eternal invitation


The invitation is always there, 
To deepen; to step into the Oneness; 
To leave behind the cares and opinions, 
And enter once again into relationship 
With That Which Feeds Your Soul.

Saturday, May 18, 2024

Beauty everywhere


One of the many things I love 
About riding on ferries 
Is the opportunities created by reflections 
To indulge my love of abstract photography — 
Yet another gentle reminder: 
There’s beauty everywhere — 
You only have to open your eyes to it.

Friday, May 17, 2024

Friendship


Friendship is such a blessing: 
Tied side by side 
To a wealth of shared interests and experiences; 
Separate but similar 
(And growing more so with age) 
Both free to leave or stay but choosing now 
To spend this time together, 
Floating, yet not adrift, 
Supported and uplifted 
By the calm seas of affection.

Thursday, May 16, 2024

Healing green


In a world beset by troubles beyond imagining, 
We turn to — and need — 
The cool greenness of nature 
To restore our souls.

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Committing to excellence


I love to imagine how proud 
 The architects, builders, and owners 
Of buildings like this must have felt 
To have created something so intricate, 
So beautifully proportioned and appealing. 
What might you or I create today 
That so exquisitely portrays 
Our commitment to excellence?

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Idyllic places


The rural lifestyle seems idyllic 
But has its challenges nonetheless:
 The tranquil beauty of this scene 
May well be balanced by 
The lengthy distance to a store— 
Or from a hospital or fire station, 
 Family and friends — 
Suburban life, for all it’s mocked, 
Is a valiant attempt to compromise 
 Between the convenience of the city 
And the beauty of the countryside 
While teaching us to get along with neighbors.

Monday, May 13, 2024

Determination


Apparently there’s no limit 
To how high some creatures will climb 
To get what the seem to think they need…

Sunday, May 12, 2024

Mothering


Mothering 
— Both my own and others’ children— 
Has been such a gift: 
For me, at least, it has been a means of centering; Keeping me grounded and my outlook open 
To the many other ways there are 
Of being in the world; attempting to be 
Alert to the needs of others, always evolving, 
While at the same time being forced to find 
 The inner strength and calm 
To be a helpful resource 
Without losing myself in the process. 
Today we who are all children celebrate 
All those who took the time over the years 
To nurture someone other than themselves.

Saturday, May 11, 2024

Showered with grace


So many people, 
Gifted with the experience of a lifetime; 
So many cameras taking so many pictures; 
So many squeals of delight…
 A delicious showering of grace, 
Uniting us all in joy

Friday, May 10, 2024

Fuzzy love


Growing up in Ohio, 
We were told if we got lost in the forest 
To look for the moss on the trees, 
Which always grows on the north side, 
But that’s of no help here, in the northwest: 
The moss, this time of year at least, 
Surrounds the tree trunks 
Embracing them with sunlit, green, and fuzzy 
 Love.

Thursday, May 9, 2024

Inconsistency




After a week spent making tiny paintings,
 It was both pure joy and challenging 
To return to a larger canvas. 
Some part of me worries 
At the difference in the style that appears 
 In the small space versus the large, 
While another voice is remembering 
 Emerson’s foolish consistency, 
“The hobgoblin of little minds.”

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Watching the sun set


Come, sit with me beneath the trees, 
And we will watch the sky together, 
Deepening into night; 
The sun, beaming, as it dives into the waves; 
The clouds’ farewell rosy blush 
 As they slide beneath the purple comforter 
Of darkness.

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

In the first blush of evening


Some evenings are too beautiful 
 For words to capture…

Monday, May 6, 2024

A new perspective


It never hurts to try 
To gain a new and broader perspective, 
But it may make going back 
 To the way things were 
More challenging… 
That old song comes to mind: 
🎶How you gonna keep ‘em 
Down on the farm 
When they’ve seen gay Paree?🎶

Sunday, May 5, 2024

Each an island


What if, instead of writing, “No man is an island,” 
Donne had written “Each man is an island,” 
Would we have then more fully understood 
That our disconnection, each from each, 
Is merely an illusion; 
 That beneath what seems to separate us 
We’re inextricably linked by our common ground?

Saturday, May 4, 2024

False suns


Like the flowers,
We humans crave the light 
And lift our faces to whatever sun we find, 
Which, like the sun, might offer grace or harm. 
Might be the spotlight that we crave, 
That need to be the center of attention, 
Or simply being in the presence of celebrity; 
Might be the thrill of belonging to a group, 
Or the furied drive to make it on our own; 
Might be the ecstasy that comes with addiction, 
Or the pride we take in flaunting our abstinence- 
So many temptations to follow lesser suns, 
But only one will ever truly make us bloom…

Friday, May 3, 2024

The majesty of everything


Though I grew up being told 
Not to be the poor deluded soul 
Who “couldn’t see the forest for the trees,” 
I also believe it’s easy to get so distracted 
By the majesty of the trees 
That you might miss the astounding beauty 
Of the tiny flowers 
 That dot the ground beneath them. 
How can we become more conscious 
 Of the value of both ways of seeing, 
And more attuned to the full range 
 Of what’s going on around us?

Thursday, May 2, 2024

An hour of joy


From 8:01 to 8:56, 
 An incredible parade of beauty. 
How blessed are we, 
 To be offered this hour of joy?

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Now and when


We always have that choice: 
To appreciate and cultivate 
 The bright greenness of what’s here, and now — 
Or to fixate on our worries 
 About the thunderclouds in the distance: 
Which will you choose today?