The Earth

The earth is all we have
As long as we are here
Until we see through
The blackness of the night
Until we know the sounds
Of truth and speculation
Until the mystery falls away
And the spirit flees to home
Where the warmth and light
That we let go of so long ago
Waits forever for us
We longed for that place
Until we forgot
It was missing
Even though I know
It’s been there all the time
In the ground, all around

Quiet Band of Cloud

A gentle rhythm played by ocean waves
Swashes up from rocks below
A hypnotic whisper of waves wishing
To be hushed in the arms of their creator

Far across the water in the distance
A single band of cloud rests below its sky
And floats above its sea
Needing to be seen, wishing to be warmed

The cloud giving itself fully to the morning sun
Is slowly lost into its own fragile gift
And feels the death of its own white presence
Dissolve into an horizon of knowing

Waves still carry their soft random rhythm
Up the beach and stir broken shells by my feet
And then slide down to the ocean
To be hushed back to sleep in its arms

The little stream behind me
Hurries singsong melodies
From voices of last night’s tree frogs
Dissolved into its waters
Rushing them bright and fast past me to the sea

Privilege

A sense of privilege
Lives within me
It dresses
Under my ego

Its royal blue fabric is marked
By a bright discordant thread
Of anxiety stitched tightly
Throughout its measure

Anxiety evaporates immediately
When the thread is pulled
Through the heart of creation
Letting privilege stand alone

Tsunami

                                                                                                       Google Image
A wave in the darkness
From far across the sea
Left me standing dry on sand
We all know the tide is there
We know the wave will come
But we don’t know when
And we don’t know where
So many sit on the beach
  Watching for the mystery
That we all breathe
In with every breath
I wonder how much
Energy it takes
To deafen ourselves
Against the wind
Of its truth
 
Embrace
Every crimson sunset
Sleep well in every night
You are loved
And that is enough
To float you softly
Upon any wave
That may ever come
To find you

Herring Gull

                                                                                                       Google images
They aren’t just called
Herring Gulls
For no reason at all
They are called
Herring Gulls
Because they eat Herring

And they don’t just
Quietly eat herring
They hover noisily
And excitedly
In a flock
Over a ball of herring
That rolls and boils into the
Disappearing center
Of itself

Herring
Unafraid and unaware
Of danger in the sky
Draws seabirds to switch
Into the rich diet
They were made for
Into the deadly game
They were named for
A simple Herring Gull
Can find Herring
Better than any boat
With new and fancy gear

Canada Geese

Two geese floating
Under warm winter sun
Between anxious waves
Their heads high
Above the light’s
Weightless sparkle
Their feet deep
In solid stable stillness
Beneath the waves

These geese
So beautifully marked
Bob up and down
They never seem to tilt or ground
Like sticks and branches
That stumble after the wind
In a silty chop on the river

The wind blows
Without excitement
Without urgency
It just is
Nothing asks why
It just is
And the world
Is not confused

When I walk back
The geese are gone
And my wondering
Fails to find them
Time is changing us all
Like waves that run
After the wind

The King

May you sit beside the king
And know the gentleness behind a gesture
That can flood the world with joy or pain
May you loose yourself between wings
That lift you far above love
Where there is only one place to be
And only one thing to do
None of it requiring thought
As only presence can reign

Waiting

There is no such thing
As waiting
It’s just another word for death
We can’t really wait any more
Than the tide can rest
Half way through
The moon’s daily journey
Across the heavens

Just as we are drawn
To each inevitable instant
By Silver Threads of longing
Attached to our heart
The ocean
Is drawn by the moon
Through its slow pattern
Of breathing

There is no such thing
As waiting
It steals our moments
And places us on a shelf
Alone
Outside of reality
Outside of useful life
Where all we can hear
Is the ticking
Of an empty clock
That never can be wound

Sometimes life moves fast
Sometimes life moves slow
But looking for our future
Always steals precious feelings
From the present
And leaves us vulnerable
To wandering in
Never-widening circles
That never find the new places
We dreamed of

There is no such thing
As waiting
So change your mind
And allow your being
To explore this miracle
That wants to dance with us
To our own music of heartbreak and joy
Through each moment
Toward something like a future
That wants to greet us
As we’re standing there

Peaceful Moment

Geese, mallards, widgeon
Floating quietly today
And all together
In gentle peace
Under winter sun
On a rounded river
Between cold nights

Everything moves
Through stillness
Slowly, softly, effortlessly
Behind fragile passageways
That exclude thought
But still invite us in
To rest by the fire

There is more than enough emptiness
To hold all of the silence
And all of the stillness
That the birds float in
That the fire burns from
That our beings are rooted in
Despite false walls
That can limit our views

Let my eyes be
Let my awareness live
On the tallest branches
Of what I have become
That I may reach beyond
The walls I watched being built
With hollow bricks of time
And touch the heart of others

Raindrops and Worlds

Raindrops on the window
Effortlessly turn and hold the world
Upside down – just for fun
Each raindrop plays with the same world
So I wonder how many there are
No really, how many are there?
Raindrops and worlds
Everything on this planet is limited
And infinite at the same time
Nothing is supposed to leave
Yet light is energy
It enters from the sun
And never seems to leave
What about our souls?
What about our spirits?
Other things we can’t see -
Do they leave? Do they stay?
Does it matter?

Your Embrace

A long time
I have waited
For adoption to take place
When all I really wanted
Was a smile and an embrace
To hold a settled mind
And know that everything is good
It is going to work out fine
Just the way it always should

I am happy
With the friends
You have
They love you
Very much
As I am happy
With the friends
I've found
Who help
Me find
My ground

I will welcome
All your friends
To you
Because
In knowing that
We can celebrate
Our time together
While our ticket
Numbers match


I don’t need
To be adopted
I just need
To be embraced
As we hold
Each precious
Moment with our
Heartbeats
As they race

Earlier Rain

Raindrops fell
On engineered surfaces
With gravity and chemistry
They joined together and flowed
Only where they were allowed
Leaving crooked black lines
Across dry shadows
Of departed cars
Searching for a curb
I can’t tell by looking
At the grass or the river or the trees
If it ever rained at all
So it seems
Rain can write its name
Across man made things
Apart from that
It only really exists
When you catch it
In its simple act of falling
From the belly of a black cloud
Or clearly drumming its name out
On whatever it finds

Talons

 

photograph by: Norbert Rosing

On some days
It seems easier
To soar free -
To lift your feet
And scramble for balance
Than it is to stand
In the middle
Of a wind
That chases eagles
From high perches
Near the top
Of ancient trees
High places that offer
Clear sight and some safety
From crows and gulls
That pester them forever
No other birds are in the air today
Just the eagles
Talons tired from holding
Tight to favorite branches