beauty

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.

Choppy Water

A few ambitious branches glow
burnt umber, crimson and a
golden shade seen on parrots

We paddle through choppy water

Most trees lining the shore cling
to late August greens, dull and
forlorn as summer winds to an end

We paddle through choppy water

Our canoe is heavy with camping things
And firewood, for flames and pondering

We paddle through choppy water

A lone loon flies low
Parallel to the water’s surface
A precise, effortless distance
There is no flapping, simply
Levitation with forward motion
Isn’t that magic?

We paddle through choppy water

Now, an island’s fancy greeting
A rocky shore with full moon rising
Laying a glistening water runway
Bathing our canoe in moonlight

A tent, an island, a sweet retreat

Stillness

Maybe I fell asleep in the stillness
Of my shaded backyard hammock.
An orange cocoon stretched between
Hundred foot tall black walnut trees,
Shrouding me as I gently rocked
In the sweet peace of bird song and
Quiet summer breezes.

Hovering in sweet stillness.
Under cool leaves in silence.

The twenty-minute chime startled
Me back to semi-alert lucidity.
The still minutes of my meditating
Mind seemed brief in drift, slowing
Shallow breath, hands crossed over
Chest in a deathlike repose, basking in
The underbelly of my open heart.

Hovering in sweet stillness.
Under cool leaves in silence.

Nourish

Seven AM rowdy bird screams reverb in the oppressive heat
Blasting unknown calls as others sing secret lyrics.
The chaotic symphony infuses my morning with calm.
Serenity amid the clatter.
The definition of contradiction.

Peace

I dry my seat from overnight dew as
A shaky speckled fawn sniffs
around the edges of the patio below.
Her saddle a constellation of white dots.
White tail flicking intermittently some
unseen fly as she moves out of my
Coffee spot gaze.

Welcome

On this other new dawn the weather is cooler. Relief.
The mother stands in the mulch
Just beyond the pool deck munching grass.
Yesterday’s fawn bounds toward her mom.
Baby’s head under belly tilts, grasping teat,
Sucking hard as her baby tail wags at warp speed.
Rhythmically lifting front hoof in time or excitement,
Like any joyful baby thrilling at mama connection.

Nourish

Along the Way

The moon was enormous, yellow and nearly full
Hanging low as I drove pre-dawn to arrive on time
“Don’t be late” so I drove on and stared hard not
To forget that giant magnificent high sky glow

The entire field was bright yellow acre upon
Acre covered with sun-colored wall-to-wall
“Don’t be late” so I drove on and stared hard not
To forget that endless electrifying banana glow

Sorry to rush on tomorrow I’ll wake early and stand
Long to take in the nearer full hanging low moon
Sorry to rush on tomorrow I’ll retrace to those
Yellow fields to see up close the golden blanket

Tomorrow.

It Smelled Like Spring

It smelled like spring this morning
Exquisite evocative head-filling waves
Of fresh cut grass and buds hovering
On the brink of full blown blossoms

Crisp air laced with warm sunshine
Inhaling each blustery cool-warm gust
Filling lungs with the anticipation of
Sunny warmth only moments away

Puffy vanilla ice-cream cone fruit trees
Showering down welcome April snow
Rendering greening grass a white blanket
Magical fluffy carpet beneath grateful feet