Tourmaline and Amethyst
Going down with autumn, following the rain along the bedrock to deep river roots, the fault line of ages past marks the way to inner earth, dark caverns of crystal where heartbeat and breathing slow to rest, to learn the old magic of winter. Here darkness teaches to see where there is no light, where […]
Time Capsule
Aged and mellow like the leaves of autumn, the drift into sleep, stooping shoulders and faltering balance, the body’s winter with its blanket of cold, gray fog on the rivers, the stark outline of crows. As the sun drops deep into the south, the shortened days and long nights lead me to the message you […]
What the Earth Says
The winds of November rake through the valley, clearing the trembling trees, whistling down chimneys, lifting the rivers. Geese will come soon from the far north to feed off broad stubbled fields as ice and snow climb down from high peaks. The fog machine continues its message – stay busy and buy, yet turning away […]
Knowing the Unbroken
Cut from whole cloth the unbroken lives beyond the clutch of madness, the villains of time. In these few moments before we depart with a soft final breath, to labor toward wholeness is our link to the stars.
Tying Sea to Stone
The stone feet of the island rest in the sea, their grass skins glistening at low tide. The winds have calmed after yesterday’s storm, stillness replacing the rush of air and breaking wave. Supported by earth I sit with the old ones to search for new stories, dreaming of fire and cold water’s brace. I […]
Tracing Mysteries
There’s always more to do, the world wanting your attention, hurry now before the circus leaves town. All that you are not quite enough with the elephants to watch and the ladies in tights. The midway barkers shout try your luck, here’s your chance, yet beyond the fairgrounds in a green slice by the river […]
Walks in Moonlight
Ripe and full the harvest moon rises casting shadows from the trees lifted to the star wheel. No loneliness or garish glare, just silver glow and silence. Orion signals winter coming yet still there is warmth and the sweetness of corn. The winds will pick up bringing early storms, rain again to soak the land […]
Stone Faces
Grey water and light wind, the distant call of a gull. The weight of these times with me as I settle into the silence once more, the presence of the sea deep and unmoving. The old voices are with me, tired of the world, the many broken places, and something else rising from within to […]
Preparing Witness
He turns to rise with the sun at the far edge of the world, no temple or towering buddha, just the lonely sound of garbage trucks and smoke choked skies, preparing witness for what will come.
Eyes to the East
The voice like an airhorn buffets the country with meaningless sounds, the swaggering gait of ignorance futile against mounting crises. Up has long been down in the prison yard of violence, combing the shadows for answers while real light lays beyond, outside their cold encampments where seekers rest in moonlight, sharpening their tools against the […]
Connecting the Thread
Connecting the thread from the dimly lit present back through the darkened past to the ancient forgotten, before the slain, the hardened earth, what comes alight is new to time, unburdened by mortal weight. Pale green and fresh as a leaf, unprecedented as the rising sun, true to life and nothing else the unbidden seeps […]
Holding Her Sorrow
Fire rages down the dry slopes, years of sunlight lift in choking smoke, falling as ash blanketing the valley. The sun dull orange we reach into the burn for the ark within the flames, to find and be the solace while the old earth cleanses, holding her sorrow, her trembling hands as she weeps for […]
Preparation
Thankfulness for the morning sky then silence carving inner space, hollow bone, empty reed, ready for heaven and earth to make their music.
Riverkeepers
Winding through the broad valley the Willamette runs north, the aorta of country life pulsing through the earth. The life most know fuels along the highways, the roar of cars and fast pace. Falling from the mountains the river can be white and rapid but through the vast farmlands the run is leisurely and deliberate, […]
Solace of This World
Out along the line of trees leaves riffle in the morning breeze as the sun slowly rises bringing heat to the valley. Cars flow down the avenue, people intent on their drive to work; more heat off the asphalt, music plays, the white noise of news. In the mix of the city, ingredients added, stirred […]