Dark Heaven

Morning under clouded skies, the longest night passed in the slow turn toward brighter days. Aldebaran leads Orion through the winter arc as I pursue the star within on the road leading home. Be of good faith my friend; though we have far to travel, we are connected, however distant, following a light in the […]

Words of the Disciple

The tangle of roots in mud and clay hold the impossible height swaying above the rooftops. I burrow down in what’s left of imagination, clawing through wires and pipes to the soil past grief, finding a grip in the broken clods to recall your face, your name, the years when strength was real. I fought […]

Still Point

Quietly he gathers attention to the still point within, a candle flame brightening the inner sanctuary where life force pulses. His roots of awareness drink deeply of the sacred, as prayers for peace suffuse the sentient world turning now to greet the new earth dawn.                     […]

Original Intent

After the burden of travel I return to the evergreen valley with winter light along the rim. Without wonder the soul becomes weary, needing the air that stirs the high trees, cleansing the passages clogged by the dull weight of repetition. One lightning stroke of imagination and the body, racked by the failure to love, […]

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 […]