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…)

Echoes of the Sun

Daffodils blooming at the edge of the cliff: 

Bright spots of yellow echo the sun.

Dragged down

Dragged down by the accretions 

Of the past several months, 

We spread our arms in welcome 

To the bright awakening and warm breezes 

Of spring.

The power of light

Such is the power of the light: 

To single out that which is beautiful; 

That which is unique to us alone, 

And to bring it to the attention of those around us; 

To celebrate individuality and make it known.

 And so the attention we pay 

To others and our surroundings 

Acts as light, enlivening our darkened world.

High climbers

Like my cat, some humans seem to have an urge 

To ascend to the highest possible place: 

The Everest for Sir Edmund Hillary; 

The moon, for the astronauts of Artemis ll. 

For me, I am happy down here on the ground, 

Breathing the scents of Spring.

Glow brighter as the dark descends

Evening, and as the dark rolls in,

 Shrinking the light, 

The color intensifies to flame 

 Before winking out. 

I hope my life will do the same;

 That whatever gifts I have 

 Glow brighter as I age and dark descends…

The charms of imperfection

Just as the artist seeks to render 

The scene that lies before her, 

The clouds attempt to mimic 

The mountain’s shape below them. 

Each slight divergence from exactness 

 Adds to the charm of their endeavors.

As spring returns

As the weather warms, 

 And the puddles slowly fade 

From our daily walk, 

The mountain reappears 

 From behind the clouds 

 That brought all that rain 

And we rejoice to find spring still returns 

Despite the darkness in the world.

Happy Easter!

 

Recognizing our oneness

Love, says Eckhart Tolle, 

Is the recognition of oneness 

In the world of duality; 

To see in the face of another 

The underlying spirit 

That grounds, fuels, and unites you both. 

What if we took the time to see 

That connection in every person we greet? 

Would that not make us each feel less alone?

From suffering to grace

So much of suffering is complicated 

By our attitude toward that suffering — 

Which is not to belittle the pain of it, 

But rather an attempt to help us understand 

That to greet pain with denial, 

 Claiming “this should not be happening,” 

Only adds to our discomfort. 

To accept what is, and seek for ways 

To transform what’s learned into grace — 

That is the key.

Who benefits from deception?

Even without AI, 

 It is possible to mislead people; 

To delude them into thinking 

What they see’s not what it is. 

Magicians, movies, actors and politicians 

 Have been doing that for years. 

What matters most is not what’s false 

But the intent behind the deception 

And who benefits.

Eagle eyes

This watchful bird with his young eagle eyes 

Looks down from his branch at the sea below, 

Ready to fly down and capture the fish 

That swim beneath the waves that crash on the shore.

Upon reflection…

Just as the state of the water 

Controls the accuracy of the reflections, 

The state of our minds controls 

 The accuracy of our reflections.

 It is therefore wise 

 Not to make important decisions 

 While feeling troubled and disturbed, 

But from a calm and serene perspective…

Blending opposites

I love the way our ancient willow 

Frames our new little cherry tree 

As she boldly greets the spring. 

New and old, dark and light, 

Sturdy and delicate, pink and green — 

The blend of opposites is so inviting.

Limitations help us grow

What if we came to understand 

That our limitations and imperfections 

 And the obstacles we encounter 

Will actually be the making of us; 

That as we strive to overcome; 

To improve, to learn, and to outgrow 

Whatever holds us back, 

We are, in turn, becoming 

Who we were born to be 

And inspiring those around us 

To do the same?

When light spills in

In your darkest moments, 

May light and color spill in, 

However briefly, 

And illuminate once again 

All that is good, and true, 

 And beautiful in your life.

Joy in diversity

Look how joyful the colors are! 

How can we not see 

The pleasure diversity brings?

The power of light

Such is the power of light, 

That it can endow an old folding chair 

With an aura of beauty and mystery. 

How, then, can we justify 

Refraining from sharing 

The light each of us carries within us?

On the bright side

I’m trying hard to rise above 

 The concerns of the day 

But it’s a challenge, 

To keep looking on the bright side 

When the dark in both 

The foreground and the distance 

Looms so large..

A splendor of belonging

Though each of these differs from the others, 

They are all trees, and co-exist 

In a glorious splendor of belonging. 

Why is it that we find ourselves unable 

To find the same unity in diversity?

Projection

So often the faults we accuse in others 

Are projections from failings 

We ignore in ourselves, 

And the efforts we spend excluding others 

Might be better invested in healing 

 What is broken in ourselves…