Category: Summer 2023

The first leaves color and fall.
The light comes later and fades
all too soon. But in the heap
of wild foliage at the roadside
pale purple asters begin
their autumn dance. And oh,
the luscious fragrance
in the air!

Finding themselves on rocky ground,
surrounded by the broken and the fallen,
in a place where the sun can find only
brief and narrow openings,
some spirits nonetheless thrive,
rejecting excuses for failing,
choosing instead to laugh and stand tall,
to shine their light, to blossom in love
and live free. If you should see them,
let your heart applaud.

Let your eye see beauty.
Meet the eyes of a stranger
with a smile. Dare to sing.
Allow yourself to savor
the pleasures of the moment,
even though the world
is filled with fear and pain.
Your one courageous act
of joy lessens the weight
of suffering that the world
has to bear. Do your best.
Tilt toward the light

Somewhere in the world,
bright flowers are blooming.
Somewhere, the sun is shining down.
Lovers are embracing somewhere and
children are dreaming in their mother’s arms.
Somewhere, great music is playing
and songs are being sung. Someone
is climbing a mountain, someone
is offering prayer. Somewhere,
friends are breaking bread and weaving
memories. Somewhere, butterflies
float and colored birds take wing.
Somewhere stars are glittering
in a velvet sky. And everywhere,
always, the Great Yes unfolds
in waves of limitless love.

When storms loom, remember
to stay rooted in the now,
loving all who surround you,
bringing them into the comfort of your calm,
into the reach of your heart’s trusting song,
the serenity and light of your smile.
Do what the moment requests of you,
whether that be patience or strength,
whether firmness or flexibility.
Count your current blessings.
You are here.
Let the wonder of that sustain you,
though there be storms.

All love goes beyond words.  
Some of it’s so deep you can’t even think it,
only feel it in your heart.  
And then there’s the love that’s made of
all the bits and crumbs of love that ever were.
Why, it’s so big that all it can do is paint itself
all over everything, right before your very eyes.

Regardless of how things may seem,
regardless of confusion, conflict and pain,
always there is that which is pure
and simple and singing with joy,
that which gives balance
and the assurance of grace.
Go about your day, then, with gladness.
These blossoms are reminders
that we’re all dearly loved.
Even me, even you.

The leaves tumble down to the creek‘s floor
like careless drops from the brush of an unseen artist.
Splattering the rocks with autumn rainbow hues,
they and the creek make a painting of their own.
But this is no accident. There’s nothing careless here.
It took eons to produce this scene, time beyond measure.
All for this moment, this one breath of a day,
when the light and the breeze were just so,
and it was early September.

One by one, the leaves decide.
Who will go first? Who will hang on?
Who will be the last to go?
Already some cannot resist
the chance to fly, to ride the wind
free of any restraint, to sail birdlike
on wings of air. Most wait,
savoring the familiar view, savoring
its changes. There is no right or wrong.
Time signals each one when to fly.
And time, the bubbling creek says,
has a way of doing things
in exactly the perfect order.

It’s going on noon on the first day of September
when I decide to climb the western slope of the south hill.
It smells of advancing autumn and the summer’s sea of ferns
is but froth on the shore after the waves have spent their force
and washed away. Here and there, a fallen leaf dots the ground.
And the fallen branches, gifts from the winds, are plentiful
and easy to see, now that the foliage has melted into the soil.
I will be roaming here again soon, gathering them to serve
as fuel for my winter fires. But today I am here just to see
what there is to see as the world ushers in September.