Summer gardens

There is such grace in a summer garden; 

An alluring peace, an invitation 

To simply sit and breathe the scents 

Of a summer’s afternoon…

Moving forward

There are days when change is in the air 

And it all seems overwhelming. 

At times like this, it’s good to step back, 

Take a deep breath, and look at the long view. 

 Yes, you’re leaving the old life behind, 

With its clarity and familiarity, 

But a new life awaits, with new adventures, 

New potential, and opportunities for growth: 

Breathe again, and leap into it!

Seeking the light

May the thorny obstacles in our path 

Give way to the light that awaits us.

Inevitability of change

With just a single red leaf, 

Nature reminds us 

That nothing lasts forever; 

That summer always fades into fall, 

Just as surely as the dark days of winter 

Will warm into spring; 

That what is now will surely pass, 

And what awaits is always changing.

In mourning

The Pieta perfectly captures, 

Not just how any mother mourns the loss of a child, 

But how any human feels when watching 

Something pure and precious 

Be thoughtlessly destroyed. 

Helplessness in the face of things unfair 

Is always devastating.

The gift of space

There’s something about having —

 Or even just seeing — the space 

To dream, and to imagine a better, kinder world; 

To feel yourself a part of nature; 

To understand the underlying 

 Connectedness of things…

Fake vs. real

Though it looks like a painting,

 It’s a photograph, though I never figured out — 

Because it sat in a bowl of water — 

If the flower was real or artificial. 

And that’s how things seem to be, these days: 

We know, less and less, 

What is true and what is false; 

What’s human-generated 

And what’s AI…

How can we protect?

We’ve learned to erect scaffolding 

Around the buildings we need to protect and repair, 

But what scaffoldings have we put in place 

To protect and repair the principles, 

The morality and integrity 

Once established for our society?

Ageless beauty

How is an old barn like Cleopatra?

 “Age cannot wither her, 

Nor custom stale her infinite variety.” 

That which we love 

Seems ever beautiful before our eyes. 

If only we could learn to love 

Each moment in our lives…

Just curious

What happens in an old New England Inn, 

When someone decides to mount candles 

On the wall above a fireplace. 

I found them in the summer, and wondered, 

Am I the only one who noticed that they melted? 

Or is it that they’ve been left here as a joke?

Moments to remember

What is it we’ll remember, 

When our days draw to a close? 

Will it be acquisitions and accomplishments,

 Or precious moments, and special people? 

What choices might we make this day 

To spend our time and energies more wisely?

Eagle eyes

He who watches over all 

Is seeking, not to protect, but to devour:

Whatever he has just destroyed 

 Never seems to bring satisfaction.

At day’s end

At day’s end, 

We make time to reflect and dream: 

How have I made the world a better place today, 

And what might I do tomorrow 

To encourage the resurgence 

Of peace and compassion?

Oases of beauty

We used to have a saying mounted 

On our office wall: “You can’t control the wind, 

But you can adjust your sails.” 

In times like these, we may feel helpless 

Against the powers that be, 

But we can still create oases of beauty 

Where energy and passion can rest and be restored.

The burning of the bush

My camera could only capture 

The redness of the smoky sun 

 By shooting from behind a bush.

 Remembering Moses, 

Who also faced a burning bush 

Because the sight of God was too intense,

 I wonder what new commandments 

We’re meant to take away 

From yet another summer spent in flames?

Astonishment

Some days I find it astonishing 

That nature continues to thrive 

Despite all that’s going wrong in the world.

Confirmation bias

Somehow I don’t believe 

That a train would arrive in this location 

With any kind of speed that might endanger 

Any person standing nearby. 

So it seems the sign is there to add to the illusion 

Of truth. 

It may be wiser to confirm 

What you’re seeing with your eyes 

Than to assume that what you’re told is actually true.

For the wildfires

We humans need beauty to soothe our hearts 

When the world’s going up in flames. 

I’m aching today for all those affected 

By the wildfires raging at home and abroad.

Bridge of Flowers

How brilliant is this,

 To take an abandoned bridge, 

Fill it with dirt, 

And plant a glorious array of flowers 

For people to enjoy? 

Thank you to the gardeners 

Of Shelburne Falls, Mass!

Creativity

I suspect the key ingredients 

In the practice of creativity 

 Must be confidence and courage: 

The confidence to believe 

That your particular vision has value, 

And the courage to step outside the box, 

To question underlying assumptions 

 And resist the voices that call for conformity.

Brave explorers

I am in awe of the brave explorers 

Who carved a path between the mountains, 

Trusting that their labors 

Might someday bring them 

To a significantly better life; 

 A land of milk and honey.

Morning observations

Waking to such beauty, 

Emanating from a central point 

That actually doesn’t coincide 

With the placement of the sun, 

We can observe and conclude 

That influence and power 

Need not be congruent, 

And there is beauty in bending 

And reflecting the source 

Into forms unique to the times.

At the end of the tunnel

Somehow, as we continue to glide 

Down what seems to be an endless tunnel, 

We have to trust 

That with time we will emerge 

Once again into the light…

Farewell to New England

Evening dusts the city 

With her golden light 

As we bid a fond farewell 

 To our east coast friends 

And hope to meet again 

In kinder times.

Ready to come down

While all around it teems with life, 

 Shared purpose and collaboration, 

This looming tower reeks 

Of death and destruction; 

Some poison at its roots — 

And will surely topple soon.

Evening peace

Evening, 

And peace settles on the river 

As darkness deepens the colors 

Hidden in the sky. 

Rest, breathe, and recover 

From the challenges of the day.

The winding road

The straightest path to your future 

May not always be the wisest 

Or most appealing…

The future awaits

The future awaits: 

You have only to open the door..

Assumptions

Our clarity of vision’s become 

Overgrown with assumptions,

Prejudice, ignorance, 

And pre-conceived notions about “the other.” 

Whether that other’s a different color, 

Nationality, sex, or party, 

We’ve built this life together 

And this network of false beliefs 

Could tear it down. 

It’s time to strip away 

Those judgments and presumptions 

And reveal the truth beneath:

 That we are one.

How many books?

No matter how many books you read or own, 

They won’t teach you quite as much 

As simply living and interacting 

 With your fellow humans, 

And listening: both to them 

And to the promptings of your heart.

Go with the flow

May compassion and joy 

Flow into our hearts 

Like a glorious waterfall 

 And spill over into all 

Whom our lives touch.

Drinking it in

Like a bee on a flower, 

We buzz through our days 

Savoring those sweet moments 

When everything seems 

To fall into place.

Wildfire Season

I’ve been building little barriers, 

You know, 

Like stones around the foundation of a house, 

In hopes 

That the embers of old arguments 

Won’t drift too close, catch fire, and destroy 

 The carefully constructed conventions 

That make it possible 

For us to live in harmony, 

But you keep adding fuel to the fire.

This butterfly of a moment

Look closer, 

And see what you might find. 

Hold your breath, 

Still your motions, 

And let this butterfly of a moment linger 

Long enough to teach you 

Whatever it is you need to learn today.

For all the lakes and forests

In gratitude 

 For all the quiet lakes 

And forests in our country; 

That they may be protected 

 And survive the depredations 

 Of our thoughtlessness and greed 

And continue to inspire us 

To strive for calm, compassion, 

And peace.

Morning

Morning, 

And a new day dawns.

Colors grow, glow, and fade

Like love, to be born again

With a kind word, a gentle touch,

A thoughtful action,

Bearing light and color

Back to the wounded heart.

The pause that refreshes

Sometimes it’s good to pause, 

Take a deep breath,

 And become attuned to your surroundings; 

Get to feeling grounded and centered again.

Collaboration

Though the rocks seem inhospitable, 

Cold and hard, 

Somehow the plants 

 Seem to grow and thrive around them, 

And together, the firm and the delicate 

Tell a tale of cooperation; 

A marriage of strength and beauty 

That warms the heart and pleases the eye.

Life’s a labyrinth

Life’s a bit of a labyrinth: 

You can see where you’re trying to get to, 

But the path you’re traveling 

 Is not exactly direct. 

Have faith, keep breathing, and trust 

That where you are now 

Is where you’re meant to be.

Sharing the spotlight

Just as different flowers on a single stalk 

May bloom at different times, 

So, too, must humans wait 

Until it is their time to bloom, 

And come to understand the charm 

In serving as a backdrop 

For the others on your stalk, 

While knowing with assurance 

Your opportunity will come.

For all who suffer

For those days when you feel 

Like nothing’s going nowhere 

And no one would miss you 

If you just stepped out into the void 

And disappeared completely, 

Please take a minute and breathe in 

A breath for all who also feel 

Discouraged and depressed, 

Then reach down deep into your heart 

And find whatever spark of joy remains 

And breathe it out: a gift for all who suffer.

Stop and smell the flowers

It’s never a bad idea to stop and smell the flowers, 

Even when the flowers don’t exactly smell, 

Because to take that sniff requires you 

 To take a breath, slow down, 

And then become, however briefly, 

Present to the beauty that nature has to offer.

Taking a chance

What’s life, without a little mystery? 

An invitation to explore, 

An opportunity to try something 

That’s just a little different… 

It’s so easy to assume 

 That the way things always were 

Is the way they’ll always be: 

Why risk a possible fall from normality?

Divisions real or imaginary

And when I saw how the cloud bisected 

Both sky and sea, I found myself 

Feeling the echoes of our divisions; 

The painful split in our unity, 

And wondered: is ours, like this, 

Simply a reflection of the times? 

Or does it — as I fear it may — 

Divide to the depths of being?

Always making choices

I woke to an amazing morning sky 

And now my non-zen mind 

Wants me to choose: Which pic is better? 

Before or after the sun has risen 

And the mountain fades to smoke? 

So worldly, that mind, always dividing 

Into right and wrong, better and best… 

When will I fully comprehend 

The indivisible unity of being?

Bright side

Let us always seek to find 

The rose amid the thorns.

Artful practicality

A museum piece, to be sure;

 A reminder of times gone by, 

When craftsmanship was a value, 

And we spent our time, 

Not staring at our phones, 

But creating; beautifying,

 Blessing practicality with art.

Inspired to be light

As somewhat of a sunset connoisseur,

 I didn’t find this sunset that impressive, 

As the sun was mostly buried in the clouds. 

But then I looked again and saw 

The power of the light: 

 The way that it reached up and through 

 The gray that weighed it down and found 

A way to light the blue that lay behind — 

An inspiration for us all to still be light 

Though we’re weighed down 

By all the darkness that surrounds us.

American Eagle

Seated at the top of the tallest tree,

The eagle’s always on the alert for prey 

And views us useless humans down below 

With little interest, and possibly contempt…

Protection

Who taught you that you need 

To hide your beauty behind a screen; 

That protection will always be more important

Than letting yourself be truly seen?