Only a Pause
I pause here in the rushes
keeping an eye on the clouds,
letting the blue settle into my eyes
before I dive into the flow
Praying for What Falls
pelted leaves drip
with gathering strength
as light finds its way
to my thin veined aperture
praying for what falls freely
from the passing sky
What is Near
until the green leaves
with darkened edges
remind us to water
what is near
Coots
the coots thin faces suddenly white
on the edges of the wind,
drifting in the shallows
as if on the first morning
Pouring a Slab Near Cane River
Before first light the men arrive in their battered pickups, dented from the in and out of heavy tools. Jack Benjamin helps J.C. lift the power trowel and strike the blades from yesterday’s pour. The first sweat of the day is glistening, the air still night cool when in the distance the sound of gears, […]
Leaves with the Night
strangers walking by with flowers dropping
into cement gone soft from their fall
as the sky clears and the last of winter
leaves with the night
If Not Tonight
the bare limbed maples
bulging with life,
subduing the pain
of all things mortal,
joy like sap lifted
in clear metallic light
By the Hollow
Before words the silence, before movement the still point without thought or desire. With the single eye of eagle hunting, the patience of stones stepped in the sea, empty, then empty again. By the hollow the boat is lifted, to the open hand the world restores.
In This Room
only to discover
in this unnoticed room
with blank paper
and knowing glance
your very own self
Hands and Feet
and the honor
of leaving on the tide
when the pull of moon
becomes too strong
for hands and feet
Rare and Precious
She’s a gift you see
rare and precious
like wild grass
or heron in flight..
Renewing with Hunger
Hidden away in the mountains of Tibet
monasteries with chanting so deep
layers of stone shift and change,
mountains awaken
Returning to Life
What to do
returning to life
after triage and repair,
no bullet to the head
or wreck on the highway
but a death for the soul..
Like a Rock
Old and slow like a rock for my family on the broken scree of a sliding slope, I lay down aching and wake with a groan, as I hold my gut and let voice drain the painful feeling. I always wanted to mean more to them; perhaps this is how, by knowing the earth of […]
Comrade Beloved
Nothing will surprise you if not today, the sudden appearance of a star, music from a nearby tree and the pulse beating like a drum on blue rivers beneath the skin. Below the pavement, into the night sky, and within this body, comrade beloved, shocking the universe with wide eyed attention.