Wishing you peace and joy

May you find some quiet time today, 

And use it to find peace and joy 

Within yourself, and then send both 

Out into our troubled world.

The invitation

The invitation is always there: 

To walk through the weeds — 

However distracting and appealing they might be — 

And step into a deeper, richer, consciousness, 

 To discover a new clarity of purpose.

Flocked

We got flocked yesterday 

By local high school students 

Raising money for a substance-free 

Graduation party. 

True confession: 

I loved having those flamingos in my lawn; 

Loved the ingenuity as well, 

And the sense that we are part 

Of this community.

But most of all I loved 

The little white one in the middle. 

I think the fawns are getting to me…

Accepting our boundaries

Whether you’re on the outside looking in 

Or on the inside looking out, 

Curiosity is clearly not unique to humans. 

That said, it can be counterproductive 

 To focus too obsessively 

 On what we cannot have or do 

And the boundaries of our circumstances 

 While failing to appreciate 

 The life we lead inside them…

A plethora of libraries

I love being in a community 

That sprinkles Little Free Libraries 

In every neighborhood, 

As common as the lilacs, iris, 

And lavender in spring.

Notice tenderness

When violence and cruelty,

 Insanity and injustice 

Seem to dominate the news, 

Noticing instances 

Of tenderness and compassion 

Can help restore your soul.

What the camera reveals

I took three pictures of this fence,

 But this is the only one in which 

The clouds, and even the lines of trees 

Echo the line of the fence; 

In which the camera noticed what I didn’t see — 

 And that’s the joy of photography: 

When the spirit moves you to take a picture, 

And it’s only later that you discover 

 The beauty that’s revealed…

Beneath the island

Those days when you feel like an island, 

Singled out by the clouds 

For either praise or injustice, 

It’s good to remember that beneath the sea 

We are all solidly connected, 

One to another and each to all.

Choosing to bloom

To choose to bloom 

When blooming will highlight 

The differences between you 

And those around you 

Will take courage…

 Bloom anyway!

Recovery

Having left a golden chain tree behind 

At a previous home, 

I longed to add one to our yard 

When we moved. 

So we planted one three years ago, 

But before we could fence it in 

The deer ate all its lower branches. 

For the next two years it stayed almost bare, 

Growing just a few leaves, 

But finally this year it has recovered 

 And sprouted glorious chains — A reminder:

We, too, with patience and time, 

Can recover from our losses.

Return to Eden

A garden is such a gift to all who walk in it: 

It’s as if, for just a moment, 

We were returned to Eden; 

To the original purity of the world.

Contortions

Mama was determined to rest,

 But baby was determined to suckle. 

Ah, the contortions we go through 

To get our needs met…

Island life

How blessed to be 

Living by the sea, 

In the shadow of 

 These glorious mountains!

Oyster lessons

Watching the oyster farmers: A gentle reminder 

That while the tide must come in for growth, 

The tide must go out

 If we are to harvest that growth.

 Highs and lows both have their place 

If we are to evolve.

Blessings

May peace and light fill your soul 

Today and every day.

Predator safety

We spent a quiet day, 

Punctuated by bursts of rainfall, 

Reading and occasionally watching

 A pair of geese who appeared to be nesting 

In the field below the house, 

When suddenly they flew off, 

And just as you started to call attention 

 To their departure, an eagle flew in 

And perched in the tree above the spot 

Where the geese had been foraging. 

Of course, we thought. No one feels safe 

When a predator is near.

Fifty shades of green

So many shades of green in my garden, 

Each a beautiful addition to the whole. 

So many shades of skin in the world, 

Each enriching the human garden. 

Why would we not include them all?

Take small steps

Little creatures, 

Placed outside a hospital window 

To brighten a patient’s day — 

A small thing, but it shows that someone cares. 

We needn’t berate ourselves 

For all the large ways we cannot change the world, 

But we CAN choose to take small steps that matter.

For the love of Iris

It’s amazing, 

After a long dark winter, 

How much pleasure 

A single flower can bring.

A moment of stillness

Wishing you moments of stillness 

And peaceful reflections 

To soothe you in a turbulent world.

Mountain glory

The colors, the textures, 

The layers of clouds… 

Some mornings the mountain 

 Just blows me away: 

So grateful to live in her presence!

Happy Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day 

To all — male or female — 

Whose hearts ache just a little 

On seeing this new fawn; 

For whom the sight of vulnerability 

 Inspires a longing to protect: 

We are the ones 

 Who will give life to the future; 

We are the keepers of the earth.

Lavender season

I couldn’t resist this drive-by shooting 

As I headed out of town yesterday morning. 

It’s lavender season here, 

And sometimes the plants are so amazing 

We don’t even notice the beauty of 

The manmade structures behind them…

Imagining more snow

After weeks of painting dark and gloom, 

A little burst of joy, 

Imagining a larger snowcap 

In our mountains than what’s fallen 

 To a mere 36% of its usual grandeur — 

Which means drought, already proclaimed for our state. Why bad news would inspire light 

I cannot claim to know, but still I’m grateful…

That undertone of sadness

The rhodies are blowsy with color, 

The lavender purples my view, 

The Queen Anne’s lace is sparkling, 

The golden chain has chained at last, 

The fawns are frolicking on the lawn, 

And even the sky is blooming with color, 

Why, then, this undertone of sadness?

Dual awareness

To hold both in your consciousness — 

The beauty that is near to hand 

And the beauty of the distant scene — 

Is practice for the challenge 

 Of comprehending simultaneously 

 Awareness of both the me that is your body 

And the me that is your inner aliveness, 

The spirit that animates that body. 

To know and rejoice in both 

Is to be whole and fully human.

First fawn

I watch with joy as the first fawn of the season 

Crosses my driveway with his tired-eyed mom, 

And I grow teary-eyed watching him nurse 

And romp about beneath my neighbor’s apple tree. Welcome to the world, Little One.

Peace offering

May the quiet peace of an early morning 

Fill your heart and restore your soul.

A call to justice

Some sunsets are simply irresistible: 

A sweeping, magnificent, breathtaking call 

To Hope, Faith, and belief 

That surely something 

Greater than ourselves 

Is capable of redemption; 

Restoration of the values 

Our forefathers worked so hard to put in place…

The Eagle’s Visit

On foggy days like today my windows are glazed 

With a delicate haze of gray, and yet 

My attention was captured by a small brown bunny 

Which paused, looked up, 

And bounded into the bushes 

Just as an eagle swooped in

His huge wings filling the window’s space, 

Then folding as he landed on the lawn. 

The great bird turned, and finding no bunny, 

Spread his wings and flew out over the sea. 

Amazing.

The last of the sunset

Watching the last of the sunset 

Through the lace of madrona trees 

We drink in the colors 

And breathe in the scents 

Of Spring.

Simple pleasures

The simple pleasures and textures found 

In a walk on a random beach 

On a sunny afternoon give reassurance:

 Life goes on, tides roll out and in again, 

The roses somehow take root and bloom 

In the most unlikely places; 

The sky still turns the water blue…

 Life is good.

Colors of spring

The colors of spring 

Have scents of their own 

And sprinkle the ground 

To flavor the earth 

With their sweetness…

Finding balance

As the weather grows warmer, 

The appeal of cooler colors grows as well 

And we find ourselves longing 

For the blessings of shadow and shade, 

While, conversely, as politics grow shadier, 

We hunger for the heat and light of truth, 

Seeking always to find that delicate balance.

A country built of windmills

A country built of windmills, 

Always seeking to face into 

The current wind of thought, 

Easily distracted, always ready to churn 

Turning, turning, spinning to convert 

The latest falsehoods into power,

 The latest scoop of sound 

Into a bite to increase influence 

Without demanding any grounding in truth.

For our children

I bought this little Buddha years ago, 

Enchanted by the fact 

 That he tenderly cradles a child 

And has the face of a wise old grandmother. 

And I’m still moved to see him, 

Lit by the morning sun, 

Sitting in my lavender garden, 

Still cradling the children of the world 

With that beatific smile…

Apple blossoms

Each year the apple blossoms return, 

Their glorious perfection 

 Enchanting me once again, 

Even without the implied promise 

Of fruit to come, come fall. 

The colors, the scents, 

 The hum of the bees — 

All music to my heart.

Even the wildflowers

When spring finally begins to burst forth, 

We are so grateful for the onrush of color 

After the leaden skies of winter 

That even the wildflowers seem beautiful.

In gratitude

I live my life in gratitude 

 For chance moments such as this: 

How blessed by simple pleasures — 

Three boats, a mountain, 

The colors, and the sea…

Happy Earth Day

To honor Earth Day, 

I offer these immortal lines 

From the New Zealand Book of Common Prayer, 

The Māori version of The Lord’s Prayer.

The triumph of spring

Yesterday, while my daughter napped, 

I took a walk around the yard 

Of the house where she’s recovering 

 From her latest chemo infusion 

And found these beautiful irises. 

How is it, that beauty can be so reassuring; 

That spring’s return after a long hard winter 

Always reminds us life can triumph 

 Over obstacles sometimes too painful to be borne?

Drama in the sky

I took so many pictures of last night’s sunset, 

Hoping to capture its beauty. 

This one’s not the prettiest, 

But definitely the most dramatic —

 It feels like it’s given me a glimpse of heaven: 

 Not just beauty, but a promise: 

Of depth, of hope, of a world beyond 

The surface challenges of the day.

Dark and light together

Driving by the variegated hillsides of spring, 

I’m enchanted by the contrasts in color; 

That dark and light can commingle 

 So seamlessly in nature 

Makes me wonder why we struggle so as humans 

Instead of appreciating the beauties in the mix.

Morning colors

The colors of the morning

Feed a hunger in our souls 

For what is good, and true, 

 And always waiting beneath the clouds.

Morning mystery

I never seem to tire 

Of the mystical effects 

Of an early morning sunrise: 

The way it turns the windows opaque 

While darkening the shadows, 

Adding an aura of enchantment 

To the ordinary…

On edge?

To sit and admire 

The constantly shifting majesty of clouds; 

To find yourself at the edge of the world, 

Watching for its end; 

To breathe, and breathe, and breathe again 

The sea salt air in hopes of clearing 

Your brain of all its fears and concerns 

Is a blessing not to be missed.

Present perfection

The perfection of that beak; 

So orange against the dark of the piling, 

Ignited as if from within by a trick of the light… 

These are the joys that presence can bring: 

To be wholly in the moment, wholly aware; 

To see what you may never see again 

Without regretting its loss when it passes.

Billionaire bird

The hawk levels his malevolent stare 

At me from his perch on the bird feeder 

As if he owns the joint, and woe 

To all who dare to extract a single seed 

From his domain…

Fencing in or fencing out?

The cherry tree’s in bloom again; 

The apple trees are leafing out, 

And there’s blossoms on the plum: oh, my! 

It won’t be long before the deer 

Are dancing on their hind legs, 

Snacking on our fruit. 

(That fence our neighbors built 

To keep them out, instead 

Seems to trap them in…)