Filled with moonlight,
I stand quietly by the sea.
Under shining stars
the night’s dark embrace
leaves the kiss of peace
on my grizzled cheek.
I scratch my thanks
on the morning tablet
to cheer our footsteps
as we wander in the miracle
of life on Earth.

Reading of “Kiss of Peace”

With elegant wings
heron carves the air
above the tide.
No combat or struggle,
just thin bone and muscle
leaving the image
of a perfect feather
drawn upon the sea.

photograph by Roy Harrington

Reading of “Heron” with music by John McLaughlin

Gaia wears her gentle face
on August days,
light winds and sunlight
cast in white gold
upon the sea.
Daring to be still
I drink in quietness,
wind and water
easing my soul.
Settled into stone
by gravity’s embrace,
the weight of time
presses me down
until like the earth
I am round
with kindness.

Reading of “Round with Kindness” with music by Maria Callas

No one is alone
in the quiet of the world.
The sky leans down,
the broad sea opens
and the forgiving earth
holds your sorrow.
Though you’ve traveled far,
weary from so many miles,
you are still beloved
by Those who bring the sun
and even now write your story
in the book of life eternal.

Reading of “Still Beloved” with music by Eduardo Falú

The sky darkens,
stars brighten
and owl voices
call from the forest,
the melody of their sound
drawing me further
into darkness.
Starlight heightens
the crunch of leaves
as the night music
leads me to another time
of lighter footprints
and earth undimmed.
The tracks of those times
nearly invisible
except when owls call
to the moon as it rises
and she answers with light
upon the bowl of the sea.

photograph by Agro Nugroho

Reading of “Owl Voices” with music by Morten Lauridsen

The moon grows full
shining on the bay a soft light
that speaks of woman,
the night alive
with the power
of distant stars.
Life is quickening
though chaos too often
obscures the miracle.
Stay on your spirit horse,
this ride will take us far,
healing old stories
with the grace of forgiveness
while across the land
and abroad the sea
the majesty of the sacred.

Reading of “Majesty of the Sacred” with music by Bob Dylan

The sea tells its story
in shimmering waves
on this sunlit morning.
Many come to ease their hearts
beside these healing waters
that the weights they bear be lifted.
The earth receives them
as mothers do
in a place of return
old as the mountains.
Words of sorrow spoken
and words of joy,
words of redemption
and words of final peace.
Each ending a beginning
and each story the yarn
for a timeless weaving
on the loom of earth and sea.

Reading of “Loom of Earth and Sea” with music by Ali Farka Toure

In that first still moment
when the sun rises
casting light across the sea
and leaves lift in soft breezes,
the presence of God
comes alive in the world.
Rest in that grace,
with the knowledge
of the One in all
and within
your trembling heart
the All in one.

Reading of “All in One”

Returned to bird sounds
and rustling grass,
the morning quiet
nurtures my soul.
Glaciered mountains
span the far horizon
as the broad sea
slowly moves
in ebbing tide.
I forget to remember
what I’ve left behind
and hunger quenched
with sweet beds of clover,
I wrap myself
in green world peace.

Reading of “Hunger Quenched” with sounds of blackbirds singing

The sun rises
and I rise,
welcoming the light
of summer’s warmth
spread across the sea.
I rest within layers of stone,
take flight with sparrows,
dream of dogs
and weave word spells.
I am healed
and I am healer,
no longer waiting
for those who came before,
alive in the mystery –
a cape upon my shoulders
and blanket under starlight.
Nowhere to go,
no one to be,
I am here.

Reading of “Alive in the Mystery” with music by Colter Wall