Imagine

Stop for a moment and pause upon this scene—

Glade of trees and field of purple blossoms,

Sunrise rising above the hills, shadows shielding light

Creating a breeze if you can feel with heart.

 

If you can truly see, hold the beauty,

Absorb it into your deepest senses,

Then you can envision it in heat of day,

Bring it back in dark of storms at night.

 

Now you possess it, hold it forever

Within your mind and call it forth at will.

Imagination is powerful, essential

For healing and happiness.

 

Come with me now. I’ve spent hours

Walking into this scene, lying among flowers,

Cool dew upon skin, smelling fragrance drifting in air,

Breathing Into lungs and deep crevices of memory.

 

What Only Soul Can Sense

The eye of the poet is always open,
Even during sleep….
Searching deeper for images and words
To match what only soul can sense,
Looking, not with but through the eye
For hidden spark within the dark.

Bend your knee under great Sequoia
In silent, wordless prayer….
Watch in wonder beside Old Faithful Geyser;
Stand in awe at sunset on rim of Grand Canyon,
Walk along sandy shores of oceans—
You find yourself within great cathedral.

Walk alone into sanctuary of wilderness—
Camp under Milky Way and see above the wider web,
Billions of stars that set boundaries of our galaxy,
Each star a light to germinate imagination….
Who can measure depth of blessing,
Wide as any hope we know?

As long as I live, I will interpret weathered stone,
Get as close to the world as I can,
Rest beside old river’s bank,
Climb mountains whose immortal age
Can only be an estimate by height,
Shifting, always shifting in my mind.

Once we’ve seen deep into Reality,
We lift the veil that blinds us to beauty,
See rainbows in another’s cloud….
Can you feel burdens of an ordinary day
Fall as lightly as raindrops upon naked skin?
If so, you’ve tasted quickening yeast of poetry.

Sacred Wonder in Our Eyes

Of course there are times

When I am lost—

Hours or even days spent gazing

Spellbound in whimsy by empty space—

Light shimmering on the lake,

Counting rolling waves upon the shore,

Watching lightening as it boldly strikes….

 

Times when I walk alone upon some path

Not knowing which way to turn,

Perhaps melancholy deep in forest,

Out upon some field in burning sun,

Jumping in puddles when it rains,

Trudging through heavy snow and wind.

And part of me is lost; and part of me is wild.

 

Last night I danced in reverie

Beneath that big old Moon….

Whether I danced naked or had

Clothes upon my back is my secret.

No, you may not ask.

Go dance your own dance—

Do not ever judge my own.

 

There is a world of dreams within,

Fantasies that come and go

As sparrows fly inside large barn

Before they find the door and soar

Somewhere among white clouds—

Precisely where I will never know.

And if I could, never would I bring them back.

 

If you find me barefoot, splashing in the brook—

Do not ask to dry my feet

Nor come back to drink your tea.

Do not say a word. Just stay with me.

Try to understand the fire inside my belly.

Imagine all the pain within my broken heart.

Find me. But do not bring me back.

 

Do you yearn to know this part of me?

If not, then never assume I am ready

To lose my soul for your reality.

Leave me lost in mystery of my own.

Though I may be alone,

I fear someone may take away my magic.

Only offer me a hand to hold.

 

Perhaps I will take you for wild ride—

I own the sky and ocean blue. And so do you.

I skip from mountain top to deep of valley floor.

Spread your wings and fly with me.

Whatever time we spend will not be wasted…

For time does not exist when we blaze

With wonder, sacred wonder burning in our eyes.

 

My Private Cave; My Secret Cove

Today I pause and feel compelled
To clear my lungs of every worry—
When eyes are closed and darkness
Surrounds my very being….
Why am I not lonely, though the world
Begins to fade away a thousand miles an hour?
No lights from cities reach my inner self.

In the stillness, I am at peace.
No other love than the Great Love,
Thin blue spot deep from my interior
Rises out of silence to secure.
Here I am completely defenseless.
No hope. No fear. No shadows
Cast by others from shallow smiles.

Is this my private cave? My secret cove?
My cul-de-sac well hidden from main roads?
Perhaps this is an intimation of death,
A falling away into soft brown Earth,
Contending with no yesterday or tomorrow,
No wish for more, yet satisfied at last.
Finally, I am at peace with myself.

Cannot Lose My Way

Forever will I be a stranger
Upon round spinning Earth.
This is not the Home I seek,
Though it be the only home I know.

For me, this Earth is but a school—
Its sorrows and cares always teach,
Then I retire into cool shade
For balm to calm my soul.

Here in evening mists
Moves living Spirit in gentle winds
That cause my heart to dance,
Tremble as do green leaves upon the trees.

Deeply do I breathe this cloud of Ages,
Trust it as my clearest guide
When freely as a bird I fly,
Wings held by murmured breath.

There is eternal blessing
In this soft breeze upon my cheek,
From vast unknowns it comes and goes.
I follow as I can, yet cannot lose my way.

If You Live Upon a Slant

I had no choice in where the seed would fall,

Only that tension of the future was unbearable.

So I had to break through stone’s narrow cracks,

Force roots deep in indirect directions.

I wanted to grow straight, cast off the burden…

But how does one escape the inescapable?

 

Running away was not an option.

No one came to help or transplant so I could

Find rich soil and sunlight, uproot me to

Give a straighter way to grow— easy salvation.

Do you also look for help from outside—

Wait for Prince Charming to arrive?

 

So this is what I have to offer—

No other way is like your own….  Learn to grow

Where your roots are found within your heart

What comes lies within your essence.

Be thankful, even if you live upon the slant.

Fulfill the destiny that is yours to live.

Words Are Unwelcome Here

Here in the forest tangle,
Rises humid air— protection
Buffers against the summer heat.
All seems quiet in faint yet heavy breeze
Except birds who speak in song.

I wonder if the trees appreciate
Their shade, the far reach of limbs,
Slow growth of nuts and fruits they give.
Somewhere deep inside hot jungle
Lies a sermon that I fail to grasp.

Words are unwelcome here.
The squirrels that spring from tree to tree
Pause to rest, observe— their little hands
Held in position as though in prayer.
Can you feel living Mystery here?

Sun above is rising higher,
Old buttery fingers reaching out,
Stretching to embrace the whole of Earth.
Underneath its power, I can only offer
Witness to the wonder now unfolding—

Necessary pain leads to letting go,
Slow growth and ever-present change.
The birds have flown away
To some grand adventure for the day.
Boldly, I stand and go to join them.