March Nineteenth

Slow, fat raindrops fall

quivering delicate limbs

Pink petals flutter

Awake

clarity

March Twelfth

The flowering trees

reach branches with tight new buds

to the sunless sky

Untitled II

A dozen cut roses.
Delicate pink children
severed at the knee for my admiration -
Beauty on demand.
How differently each responds to its destiny.
Some cling to their bud-like form as if frightened sacrificial virgins.
Others rush into full-bloom and death
with an abandon only the condemned can know.
Yet, some still take the time to open slowly,
with purpose.
Indifferent to the fact that they have been cut off from their life force,
they draw from within into bloom
with dignity and defiance.
Fulfilling their life's work
despite what they know
or because of what they know
but without hesitation or excuse.

Ordinary

Standing single file,
like druid prisoners of war,
the suburban trees line the streets.
Quietly rebelling in their allotted plots
roots buckle cement
and limbs stretch out across the roadway
to tangle themselves inextricably together.
These are my comfort,
these ancient survivors
clawing toward the sun
and cradling the moon in their branches at night.
Like me, they pass for ordinary here on Sycamore Street
but for those willing listen
they share their secrets
in whispers hung with moss.

Fog

I've been feeling panicked and edgy and, ok, angry. It has seemed like I'm in a fog -not knowing for sure which direction I'm going. And, when you're in the fog, it's probably best to just stop until you gain clarity. At first I was pretty pissed off about the fog forcing me to stop. But, as I examined the fog I started to remember all the old fairy tales and how the fog or mist surrounded a place of great knowing. You just have to find your way through the fog. That's given me hope. Perhaps somewhere in the fog of my life there is a tiny beam of light leading me to a place of greater wisdom and understanding. So, I'm going to try to summon what little patience I have, still myself and look deep into the fog for whatever answers and light might be there.