Month: September 2023

Enlighten the Way

I see the rubble, scorched earth,
destruction of lands, broken bodies,
heartbreak on faces, despair
in figures burdened with loss.

Anguish opens my heart:
“Why, how, please help.”
Solidarity stirs, Compassion
asks  “how will you respond?”

Words burn with desire;
prayer prepares the heart,
empowers actions, sustains hope,
binds us to one another.

God-within-me, God-with-us
plants seeds, ignites fire,
stirs the winds, calms the waters,
shows the way, shares the journey.

Through darkness to light, show me the way.

First Sightings

A squirrel leaves me a walnut
sheathed in green velvet,
then leaps and weaves away
to sort and bury his acorns.

Acrobatic crows hang
on bottom limbs
of kousa dogwoods,
devouring red berries

Just as September returns
sycamores on lakeside avenue
create an arch of golden yellow,
a royal welcome.

Burnished red on dogwoods,
yellow carpets of walnut leaves,
coneflower seeds, drying fuchsia,
wilting lilac tree, caterpillars,

I feel a lift in the cool breeze;
sigh as shadows lengthen;

What return shall I make?

Silence

sun slipping
through forest green,
creek sliding
over ancient stones,
cicadas clicking
in mid-afternoon,
tree frogs singing
as day falls
into darkness;

flickering flames
of campfire,
hum of human voices
settling in for the night,
full August moon
moving through treetops..

Silence infuses my soul
without a single word.

Montreat