Calling Us Back
In early dawn hours the moon sets in the west, Venus alight in the eastern sky. Perhaps I’m foolish to become so joyful yet I hold the morning dear like the Navajo who sing each day into being with prayers of thanks. However far we stray heaven will light the sky, to brighten the darkness […]
Somewhere in the Night
The skies are clouded but beyond the layers of gray and black starlight and a moon I cannot see. I travel knowing but not knowing beneath the street lamps, my eyes fixed on cobblestone. As I make my way I signal you with a smile, one of remembrance and distant shining. You are out there […]
Wise Men
Christmas 2023 The long night lengthens on a rain swept evening, blessed dark as wanderers from afar we traverse the city. Estrangement from the sacred surrounds our passage yet stars guide us to the child. The stable candle lit with beds of common straw, our hearts full of wonder in this holy hour while shepherds […]
Free from Repetition
The waters of life flow across the wheel of time bringing change and resolve. While the horrors of war plague the silent earth yearns to heal, covering the graves with green solace. Forgiveness is the antidote for bitterness and hate, medicine that requires repentance. Let us meet at the earth altar, bundle our grievances upon […]
Dark Strength
The trees are a problem, their roots lifting sidewalks to the autumn sky and my complaints bitter with the choices between hardness and life. I decide with the roots going down into wet soil for knowledge, up with dark strength to break apart ignorance. Black hooded crows watch from nearby branches, wondering what will rise […]
Poets of Grief
Poets of grief multiply in the killing fields, transcribing bitter fruit. Who am I to speak of ancient earth, life beyond the terrible sadness? Perhaps they know and need only to feel the morning air, the sound of rustling leaves. I find a bird who’ll take a message over the walls and wire. I write […]
Winter Stew
Gathering slowly Earth welcomes the fallen leaves of autumn, golden brown in their descent. Summer’s harvest for winter stew, heated in the dark cauldron. I toss in my regrets, the many failed chances and remember you in the silence while the elixir comes to boil. […]
Choirs of Knowing
Rain clouds pass over and Orion appears in the eastern sky, the first signal cold is near. I walk out on the wind whipped point to relish the bright lamp of Jupiter, the glowing red of Mars and the array of stars in the vast spread of cosmos. As one voice from the silent planet […]
Soul Cavern
With gray skies and cold air the sun moves south on the horizon as autumn reaches into the islands. Settled into the stillness the lonely sounds of geese echo across the bay, the morning quiet rich. Bird wings flutter in the trees while I put away the tools of summer, burrowing into deep earth silence […]
Safe Harbor
Waves tear south under high winds, white caps and rollers stretch across the channel as gusts envelop the cabin like a ship on the sea. I sleep with the sound, wake up in the roar and light my lamp for those out in this weather. Storm tossed and driven hope may be forgotten yet safe […]
Light in the East
In early morning I sit alone with the sea. Only stillness, dawn color and the wind’s whisper in the high trees. As the day rises I calm the thoughts that come with wakefulness. To empty the vessel is to invite the guest. No words are needed for presence is all and with light in the […]
Let the Wind Correct
The winds of autumn cause the seas to surge and strip the summer leaves. The prejudices I won’t release are torn by these winds, tearing the flesh of soul. Not as wise as I would like to be nor so strong as I pretend belief becomes defense, uncertainty to disdain so into this storm I […]
Dear Companion
Autumn rains refresh the earth, restoring color, lifting worms. Along the northwest coast forests breathe more easily, the misted seas mysterious in their changing garments. While the sun is hidden and the land grows still we ask for grace not to be misled, for patience in the slow descent. Though we travel at night the […]
All the Grace Needed
Low clouds bank the island though the rain has stopped and skies begin to clear. Summer dried the ground so the land drinks deep these autumn showers as trees begin their winter sleep. I hasten to put away all that must be stored, my heart racing with a quickened pulse while quiet winter approaches. I […]
Garden of Remembrance
Fog envelops the islands as the changing air of autumn blankets the sea with mystery. Quietly we sit within the shroud recalling the night sky passage as crows haunt the trees and we wait upon the sun. Our path obscured, our greater home hidden but as we travel the ancient road the garden of remembrance […]