The Greening

A lovely Spring
Foams onto the horizon
Where it shimmers
For a brief few weeks
Before disappearing
As quickly as it came

It leaves in its place
An embarrassment almost
Of greenery and a palette
Full of summer blooms
So achingly beautiful that
I can hardly bear it

I have wondered often if
A person can die of
Too much joy ~ simply
Overload and expire of
Ecstasy at the beauty and
The mystery of it all

I give my arm a gentle pinch
Only to find that I’m still here
Relief and disappointment
Mingle but here I am where I
Should be and I give myself to
The miracle of this Spring day

Deep Field of Dreams

My spirit speaks
The silent Universal
Language of love
And yearning

While

Trapped as surely
As any goldfish
In its tiny bowl
I recognize the irony

And the joy of
Beholding all the wonders
Hubble has to offer
In glorious living color

Along with the knowing
I will not last the tens
Of scores of years
Required to reach them

 

(Above image: The new version of Hubble’s deep image. In dark grey you can see the new light that has been found around the galaxies in this field. That light corresponds to the brightness of more than one hundred billion suns.
Credit: A. S. Borlaff et al.

In Celebration of Max

All the days and
Weeks and years
Without you ~
How will I survive ~

So much of the time
It was just you and me ~
And I was your world
And you were mine ~

Mommy’s little fur coat
I sometimes called you ~
You were so warm ~
So sleekly soft and beautiful ~

Smart and sweet and loving ~
To hold you against my heart
Was to soothe any ache ~
To hold any fear at bay ~

One of my greatest joys was
To look into your amazing eyes ~
Green and depthless and
Full of an ancient wisdom ~

Anyone who would see God ~
Has only to gaze into the eyes
Of their beloved beast ~ to see
The purity and the innocence

And at the end you trusted me ~
You looked into my eyes
And you licked my arm and
You forgave me ~

I am a better person for
Having loved you ~ and
I will remember you
Always ~

My beloved, gallant little friend, Max Haislip, departed this life on July 10, 2018. And now he has sent me the beautiful Silver, to comfort me and fill in the empty place in my life. I am smitten. Silver is on the fence but I am hopeful.

 

Joy in the Morning

One minute I am
Balancing my checkbook ~
The next I am standing
On a childhood porch ~
Smothered in pink
Sweetheart roses ~
Smelling like the
Dawn of all creation ~

I can almost feel ~
The delicate touch of the
Early morning air ~
Cool against my skin ~

It feels as if there’s
Birdsong in my veins ~
My knees and elbows tingle ~
In that one moment
It comes flooding back ~
Those magic moments
From my youth ~
When I was most alive ~

Even then ~
I must have
Realized those times
Were special ~ meant
To be stored away ~
So that they could
Be taken out ~
Unwrapped ~
Remembered ~
Savored ~

I am so grateful
For the kindness and
The foresight ~
Of a Universe which
Gives such lovely gifts
On a Monday morning ~

What Brings Me Joy

Burn bright oh blessed light of day ~
Who chases all the foolish
Fears of night away ~

It dazzles me sometimes
The beauty of all life
That you reveal ~
Especially in springtime ~

The tender green
The freshness of it all ~
The dawning of renewed hope ~

The sheer perfection
Of one single floweret
From a rhododendron blossom ~
Out of all the blossoms
In the Universe ~
Simply rocks my senses ~
And brings me
Close to tears of joy ~

These are the moments that
I live for ~