After solstice 2020

The change

comes 

so gradually

minute

by 

minute

Dawn

comes later

Dusk

will still linger

under the smothering hand

of summer

but daybreak hints

at autumn

to come

Between storms

Between

storms

before

heat rises

again

brewing

within clouds

energy

released

as fury

as change

Between

storms

we feel

refreshment

peace

however

fleeting

River's side

We seek

water

for refreshment

for solace

for life

We sense

we became

here

 and yearn

to belong

again

Dawn between

In low places

in shadows

fog lingers

as a chill lingers

the moment

when night

meets

day

in peaceful

conversation

Without us

Stilled

by a break

in the traffic

the buzz 

of wheels

the rumble 

of engines

to hear

to listen

to the whisper

of leaves

the unorchestrated chorus

of birds

not silence

but the absence

of us

Rider

A single star

rides

Lady Sun's

trailing ribbons

into

morning

Anew

Lady Sun

paints

with light

swirls clouds

thick

almost sculptural

dabs in rose

and bruised violet

steps back

to consider

wipes clean

and starts

anew

Question

Are we
bowed
by the rocky ground
or
the wind
or 
the thorns
that prick
or 
is it the weight
of carrying
beauty?

Nothing

I own nothing

of this moment

Memory

will elude

my control

Even

the image taken

will not be 

what my eye

took in

I own nothing

but

my gratitude

Splash

Hungry fish

surface briefly

to breakfast

on sleepy

waterbugs,

rippling

the rosy mirror

that reflects dawn

or 

leaping

then landing

breaking 

still morning

with

a startling

splash

When?

We razed
the oak savanna
planted a mill
on the river
then elm
and ash
and powerlines
rolled out
our roads
and drove
our poison-exhaling cars
and now
when our hearts
are heavy
and we need freedom
peace
we return
to take again

When will we give?

Return

These woods

have not

been waiting for me

instead

occupied

with their secret tasks

of growth

and decay

rebirth

and recycling

patiently multiplying

and falling away

These woods

have not

been waiting

and they will not wait

after I'm gone

Red sky

Old sailors'

warning

is the sky's promise

to thirsty earth

anticipating

not fearing

the storm

Upstream

At the rock dam
set in place
by human hands
marked
by water bird
and scribed
by river current
moss
and time
a great fish
slips sinuously
over river bottom revealed
by days without rain
then leaps
across the gap
one more level
upstream

The cool hour

In the cool hour
after sunrise
before the wind rises
to breathe heat
over seared grasses
before the town rises
to rush
and roar
a breeze
whispers
to the full tops
of the trees
and even
the morning conversation
of birds
is muted

Dawn breaks

The wind

tastes

of rain

and the clouds

electric

with

the frustrated storm

but

Lady Sun

reaches

gentle fingers

to sooth the morning

still

Before the world wakes

the only sound

birdsong

Re:

What humans

name restored

nature

has reclaimed

reasserting

in our

retreat

reaffirming

how fleeting

our influence

and how

unpredictable

nature's 

return

True eyes

After the photo

is taken

I look

with my true eyes

take in

see

color

raining from clouds

rivers of color

all flowing

to a sunburst pool

of light

Nature's art

Nature's art

evolves

a collaboration

of growth

decay

and time

what emerges

what is worn away

what is born

what is lost

Whimsical

What if

the sky

was the surface

of an ocean

the air

fast moving 

water

the trees

swaying

in the current

Where

would I emerge

if I swam

higher

higher

until I reached

the invisible

shore

On the wind

The clouds

brood

over the afternoon

harbingers

of a change

on the wind

Survivors

Wild

with

within

without us

Wild

reflects

reimagines

reinvents

Wild

survives

Morning whispers

Each tree whispers
to the dawn breeze
in its own
language
Crabtree
Aspen
Birch
Evergreen

Shifting

The river's work

is meticulous

grains of sand

cut 

from one curve

then

carried miles

to rest here

The river's work

is invisible

in the moment

but new landscapes

are visible

across time

Grace not granted

This blue

this green

this air

this sun

You can't own them

and neither 

can I

Pollute them

Neglect them

Shut our cold hearts

behind the walls

we do own

or

open our eyes

to the grace

granted

not for granted

Western side of dawn

We can turn

our backs

to the light

but 

the western side

of dawn

still reflects

Lady Sun's brilliance

as the water

holds

the sky

Soon

Hidden

from

the inward eye

the busy eye

the blind eye

something

is readying

to bloom

Momentary

Today

I stood

in your light

Lady Sun

and laughed

I'd forgotten

my heart

could be light

Water and Cloud

Water

and cloud

reflect

your beauty

the grass

bows

and glows

while we sleep

Lady Sun

wrapped 

in dark dreams

of our own making

Still

The heavy air

presses

the sky

 higher

and the earth

tighter

Even the birds

rest quiet

in the shade