
There is then and there is now
before and after
There is
the difference between
occupied and vacant
Pulse
Breath
break
Silence
these bare walls
There is then and there is now
before and after
There is
the difference between
occupied and vacant
Pulse
Breath
break
Silence
these bare walls
The book I will take with me on this journey
is not the book I chose from my shelf
last night
Then, I was looking
searching too hard for the right book
But this morning I am not yet long
awake, not yet separated from dream
The book I reach for now and read from
has not been hunted
It’s not anything except here
Quiet
Inside are words ordered
in a form and language that speak
with a clarity
I can hear
I am either weak or strong or neither
Their wisdom resonates
Even through the blur of emotion
I receive their message
I am receptable
Not yet am I ready but I half understand
one thing better:
Walking toward dilemma is a slow
deliberate walk, without fear or resistance
To know how to navigate comes
not through anticipation of what I think
might unfold but through experience
Stepping into the moment as it is
unfolding around and within me
If I can stand still inside this unfolding
maybe afterward, when I step out of it
Climb up from the river on the other side
I will have new understanding
or I will not
Either way, I am on the move
forward
Shivering only slightly now,
Ready🪶
While I lay restless dreaming
Moon slipped behind the mountain
Still I trust she was there
I am a reliable witness to events past
Therefore—
In the lambent light of this new morning
Remnants of my vivid dreamscape linger
A part of me remains present there
A mime with an indecipherable message
While I sip cinnamon coffee, breathe slow, read words from my morning text
Then read the same line again to embed
Both there and here
Presence and Absence
Which scene is this then and what act
Who’s offstage to feed my forgotten lines
Is the sky out my window the opening
Or the denouement
Is there a pause feature in this plot
I have questions to answers I think you know
At the close of each year
I like to reflect upon all
to note what it is I might have learned
before releasing the past forever to
the freedom of prevailing winds
Then I inhale deep and smile
my gaze upon the new year’s opening sky
anticipating the fledgling wonders
unfolding like a boardwalk through
the forest light of future exploring
Endings and Beginnings
Silences between
Gratitude for every moment
Every song and every scene🪶
Is it?🪶
If you have a bell, ring it
If you’ve a vision, sketch it out
If you’ve a story, speak it
If you’ve an idea, expandexplore don’t doubt
If you’ve a song to sing, sing it
Shine your light
This is your contribution to life
No matter what
No matter who
You alone validate you
A single light in the darkness
Might become two
Waves on the sand
carry letters
whisper stories
All we are is motion
balance on the wind
My ordinary took control again
The brilliant other bowed out lame
She made promises with no follow through
But ordinary invoked the wither voice
Babbling into ears deafened by distraught
It doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter
I’m just not so ready as I thought
It was a sunshine kind of day
Full moon already a past significant
I pedalled past all the slackened faces
I took my tears to the leaning garden
I spoke platitudes into summer winds
I lit a white candle
I sat looking at the blank
I set the spin to random play
I slow danced your life into the where away
I looked at your smiling photograph
I thought of stupid things made you laugh
All the early secrets only you know
It’s alright to let it go let it all go
Today I saw a light through cirrus clouds
I waved as it could be your flight
I put two sweaters on this morning
It’s colder now
There’s a bird calling urgent from the cedars
Everything is almost the same as yesterday
I’m holding on to be here now philosophy
Step one two nothing else will do
New rain is falling
I like the sound
You ended every conversation in I love you
I think I might somehow better understand
When time means your meter’s tapping out
You’ve earned the gift of clarity
We sow our seeds
We sort our weeds
We arrive
And we move on
Go to the beach. Go to the part where nobody lingers. The heron is watching. Seagulls survey. There’s the smell of saltwater. Seaweed tangled among stones. Fragments of shells. Half crabs. Splinters of sunwashed bone. Hear the song of the waves drifting out drifting in. Redwinged Blackbird calls from undercover of wild roses.
Driftwood messengers
Heartbeat rhythm on the wind
Shifts of time
clarity
contemplate your resurrection path
winds are strong today
avert the fragile makers
empty vessels travel weightless
anchors having all rusted away
your hair obscures your view
yet you see what needs be seen
a blurring
a sign
a single thread
soft speaking from the edge of
a craggy cliff
a hem of your old sweatshirt