Calm

I thought about snakes this morning
A convoluted ping-pong thought
Process brought me to black snakes
And then to snakes eating mice and moles
And then to the confident order of it all

Today, the daffodils and forsythia burst yellow as cherry trees bloom pink
And they broadcast “God is here”
Amidst the order and beauty.
God is the trees and flowers.
And in the swirl of man made chaos
The proof is in the greening grass

Less Mine

Once treasured, now trash
Overflowing giant leaf bags.
Jumbles of old clothes, boxed for
Tomorrow’s Goodwill Run.
Pots and plates heading north
Fit neatly in new plastic bins.

A day of dust and decisions
Making it all less mine.

I Meditated This Morning

I mediated this morning. It’s been a while.

6:27 AM.
10 minute timer set.
Comfortable chair
Bare feet square
Hands on knees
Three deep breaths
And a neck roll.

Breath in. Ummmm. Breath out. Soooo.

How long has it been since I did this? Why does my mouth make that noise when I exhale? Are thoughts supposed to drift across my mind? Or is it my forehead?

Breath in. Ummmm. Breath out. Soooo.

Is it funny that my thoughts are the Wicked Witch of the West on her bicycle? with Toto’s there too. Are those my thoughts, incarnate? Isn’t that bird chirping loudly? I love spring. Is it a lark?

Breath in. Ummmm. Breath out. Soooo.

Nightingale? Lark? Remember that in Romeo & Juliet? Was that movie in the 60s? Or was it the 70s? Wasn’t Judy in college when we went with mom to see it at the Pleasant Hill drive-in? Isn’t there a 55+ community there now? It was a double feature with The Great Gatsby. Robert Redford. Mia Farrow. That was weird.

Breath in. Ummmm. Breath out. Soooo.

Wasn’t Romeo and Juliet great though? Olivia Hussy was Juliet. Wasn’t she actually 13? How did they get away with that? Mom made us leave before it was over. We were so mad.

Breath in. Ummmm. Breath out. Soooo.

Mom said it had gotten too late and she had to get to bed. Right in the middle of the movie. We couldn’t believe it. How long was it until I saw the entire movie after that? Was it years? Remember back then you had to wait for a re-release? Then on the way home we got caught waiting for a train. For about an hour. Was the movie over by the time the train passed? It was Karma.

Breath in. Ummmm. Breath out. Soooo.

Alarm rings.
Times up.
That went fast.

I should do that more often.

January 2, 2019

In the time it took me to walk
The trash bins to the street
Two trips, eighty strides each
Wheeling the blue recycling

Then just simple trash
Finally a third chilly walk
Dragging a tiny brittle tree
Our Christmas, complete

The sun hovered

Glowing giant orange
Through stretching branches
Curious angles, each unique
Twists of unknown origin

Then, a glow

An Invitation

This photo. This sight.

A staggering
Orange explosion
Bathing grasses in gold,
Carpeting tidal pools
In glistening yellow sparks.

Yet, that sight
Is a fraction.
The seeing just
A tiny suggestion
Of dawn’s extent.

Waking sensations wash over me as
My camera captures the rising
And I am here, inhaling every other bit.

A great horned owl’s low hoots
Harmonize red winged blackbirds’ trill,
Elbowing through the snow goose honks.
Morning’s beautiful cacophony.

The sunrise sound immersion
In the bracing February chill.
Me, breathing in marshy sea scents
And a gulp of thin-air lung-freeze.

This photo. This sight. An invitation.