The sky closes in,
gray water and strong wind
surround the island,
dissolving old stories.
I’ve failed you many times
yet still I rise to the day.
Dallying is no good,
better to strike quickly
and release the inner gifts
supple and undying.
Hardened memories break open;
from the shattered past
the seedlings of love
lift into the storm,
fearless as ancient warriors.
The pure in heart
find strength in the wind,
courage in the wave
and against all odds
light the way
with inner flame
into the chaos
of the morrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading of “Lighting the Way” with music by Jack White

Light rises in the east,
the sky a blush of orange and pink
to greet the earth with morning.
Winter’s peace yields
to the cleansing spring,
the melt of mountain snows
swelling the rivers
with the joy of high water.
This may be a season like no other
when fear is swept from the land,
the corrupt in a flood of purification.
The gods of earth and sky
have only rested,
the season of renewal
coming like the dawn.
Those who love will love still
as the long genuflection to death
is forgotten beneath surging waters.
The sun has not forsaken us
nor the earth our humble prayers.
Let us rise with the light
and take a breath of the redolent air.
You’re not mistaken,
it is the taste of freedom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading of “Taste of Freedom” with music of Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony

With a muddy road ahead
and a steep wall behind
decisions aren’t as important
as the resolve to continue.
Keep faith with the flowering trees
and align your thoughts
with the strength of the tide.
You will be disappointed,
wounded again and again
but you will not fail
no matter the oppressor.
The inner deity will shine bright
and the mystery of your spirit
unfurl in the gathering dark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading of “Mystery Unfurled” with music by Ennio Morricone

In the gray dawn
trees are quiet
with winter sleep,
black crows
on the rooftop
the only birds.
The city is stripped of joy,
weary of struggle.
Thankfulness
hard to come by
yet it is the gift
I place on the morning altar
to comfort the bereft
in the hours before first light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author reading of “Before First Light” with music by Chris Hinze