Frightened

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I was a dog you put down once
And I watched you standing there
Searching deeply for lost pain
A past that tethered a neck
  The pain that froze a heart
  While the warmth of being seen
Lifted us into the love we are

Gratitude

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Grateful is a view
Coloring the world in thanks
Just to be here is enough
In place, if not in time
As time is never here
Its either past or due
But seldom present
Leaving us with place
A gift we always have

Grateful, like the sun
Hiding night behind its light
Showing all things in color
Including us in plain view
Of life’s miracle

Ferry Ride

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I was sitting on the ferry
Looking out the window
When a lady in the front row
Phoned a friend on her cell phone
“I just saw a fish jump”
She said loudly with enough excitement
For all of us all that were sitting there
“I have never seen a fish jump
When I have ridden on the ferry before”
She bubbled loud to her friend on the phone
I won’t deny that she saw a miracle
Or that a fish jumped out from the sea
But miracles live in the tiny ripples too
  Ones that race to the sun across waves on the sea
They are the laughter from gods
To the wind that moved them into life
Through an empty stillness of waiting
But this is my experience and
If I told everyone that sat near me
About the beauty of the wind’s dimples
As they race across the surface of the sea -
They would look at me as if I were crazy
And I am hardly ever crazy…
So I looked for the fish that jumped into the past
And then I turned back to the ripples on the sea
As they were beautiful and they were there
For me and everyone else to see

Meaning

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There is so much meaning in this place
And so often we only see what we know
Every now and then we see something new
Something we cannot understand at all
An unknown that shatters into questions
Questions large and small and in between
Questions lodging in hearts waiting to bleed
Simple answers that should be easy to find
When asked, the universe shimmers with truth
So many truths - which ones should we gather?
Which ones will become our foundation stones
For understanding this universe that we live in
This universe that surrounds us in aging infancy

Two things we all brought are love and freedom
They never tarnish and travel with us forever
They can test and measure truth against life
They can light our path and smile at others
Until we have become every one of them
Until truth holds no meaning to be measured

After the Storm

Today the forest is spare but strong
That is - whatever is left of the forest
After yesterday’s early autumn storm
The ground seems littered with leaves
And brittle branches with leaves attached
That haven’t changed their colors yet
While light shines into all the places
Where big trees have fallen through
From the sky that held their dreams
Onto soil still gripping broken roots
Even after all the wind's tearing and tossing
The forest floor seems clean to me
It just needs tidying here and there
To be done over time without help
In its own simple way

Raindrop

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The beauty of water
Floats beyond my knowing
But I think of it anyway
All the beautiful places I've been
Stood by water
Sometimes quiet as if asleep
Sometimes rushing somewhere else
But water was always there
Merging into life around it
Willing to be used
Willing to be praised
Well able to float a miracle
But never drawn to magic

I walked through
Early morning summer gardens
Raindrops gem-like for heavy blooms
Spilled puddles cuddled full
To nourish roots in rich soil
While plants and water share
Their wet and colorful lives

Walking into morning now
While darkness is still narrow
Yet knowing the sun will come
I notice a large bead of rain
Cupped in the colored palm
Of a dry autumn leaf
The balanced ball of water
Still offers all its beauty
Silently, alone, in solitude
Vibrating with joy and twinkling
Through me - past every star

Pink

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Pink is important to us here right now
But it is not important there, some may say
Where we came from - where we are going
But the idea behind pink is always important
Everywhere we’ve been - everywhere we’ll go
Most of us have seen just what pink can mean

Barefoot

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Living and laughing
Two happy choices
Flowered by souls
That navigate
Uncharted coastlines
Of life and longing
From here to there
Oiled grit to silk
And sometimes back
While pain and sadness
Teach us lifting
Of joy through darkness
And moist mossy places
Where we stand
Barefooted and unafraid