Faith of Leaves
Green leaves of the cherry tree sparkle in morning light while ocean’s breath cools the valley. Suffering these last weeks, reverence was hard to come by, attention to pain prevailed over beauty, yet the sight of you awakened me, ransomed my heart from the prison of bones. I take communion in the sacrament of thanks […]
Resurrection Portal
I whirl through space, a sea of aether and stardust, yet can’t lift my eyes from the dirt trodden path. I stumble around ignorant and afraid, though determined not to fall. I’ve begged a thousand pardons, walked in rags about the sacred mountain, followed endless breadcrumbs toward the promise of silence. I keep my head […]
To Be Like Water
More stone than sea I’d be like water, touched by wind, loved by the moon. I’d dwell in deep canyons, travel the furthest reach, and beyond sight of land be the ocean that shapes your grief in a curling wave of foam and sunlight. […]
To Beauty Let Go
“It is the nature of stone to be satisfied. It is the nature of water to want to be somewhere else.” – Mary Oliver We walked on windswept dunes, over flower-strewn meadows where the sound of birds and flowing creeks gave the air its beauty. You asked “what is the meaning” and with you […]
When Leaves Burst Out
Look for me when leaves burst out and voices of spring ring full in the valley. Follow the snow melt along the Clackamas and Long Tom rivers, beside the Willamette where wild flowers spread and deer grow fat. Where salmon run the Deschutes and herds of elk trek to higher ground, the invisible hand guides […]
Noise of Flowers
Spring flowers rattle the caves, provoking the apostles to take up their pallets of sorrow and leave dark comfort. Trees hide in the rain, fearing the cold; as crocus and daffodils join the chorus the noise of flowers disturbs my sleep. Pulling on the coat of forgiveness I stagger toward the light, shocked into wakefulness […]
Engineers of Love
The gravity of your smile, lighthearted yet muscled with the blessings of sorrow, keeps my satellite in orbit, my rage against the machine tempered and refined. Chasms of belief threaten us daily, yet as engineers of love we span the dark depths with bridge after bridge, exhausted but unbroken. No steel and wire of mechanical […]
Passport Stamped
I won’t outlive the sea, not one drop of its salt depth, not the old growth trees nor the stone beneath my feet. I am a guest to this banquet, a pilgrim at the bazaar. I fought madness and money and though my bones grow brittle still I grip the tools to carve these words. […]
Flies with the Spirit
The stars we follow have written our names, the ones we’re given on journeys with the sun. The one your mother knew when she regarded your face outside and breathing, that your father held and surrounded with light. The name of your soul – flies with the spirit, the gypsy through time, an explorer of […]
Given this Beauty
Tune your instrument to the key of praise while morning light shines on the sea. Trees lift their branches in the rising breeze and the sound of life buzzes in the forest. How important must you be when all around you glows a miracle? You might seem drunk but given this beauty the stones would […]
As She Passes
I return to the sea, her face and tide the peace of my heart, the words of our story. From far north to the straits of de Fuca, the inland passage speaks in ancient voice, braided with fog and the cry of gulls. Younger than we were yet so much older, I carve this message […]
Give Way to the Moon
Scratch a few notes in pencil, erase and feed them to the fire. With your soul at risk what the fire burns is not your worry – that is the closed room, the barred door, the lock without a key. The tide shifts and water rushes south. Scribble your last pleas for freedom, then give […]
Trembling in Spring Glory
Comfortable in the dark waste of twisted roots, life broke the hardpan forcing me to surface. The morning light blinded, a deafening sound of birds. What to do in this madhouse of awakening? No return to the labyrinth, no way down through the asphalt. Nothing left but plum tree blossoms, and the sounds of children. […]
Sing All Praise
Suffer the windswept ocean, the cold air and crested waves on this patch of green. An aquifer of imagination lies underground in pools, rising through the roots of trees and the sound of orcas breathing. Down in the dark water, up into evergreen towers, I mingle with the gods of earth and sea and sing […]
Devour the Meat
When injuries of deception corrupt the well, orchards shrivel, and predators roam the streets. Warm a cup of silence on the fires of sacrifice; empty the warehouse of useless thought. Stalking inner peace, let fly the arrow of solitude and devour the meat of holy intention. […]