Inside/Outside 7/31

Focus

on what's inside

the frame

the right angles

the limitations

the gaps

Focus

on what's outside

the limitless sky

the rolling landscape

the growth

the decay

the change

Cloud Dreams 7/30

A dragon

a serpent

the meandering trail

of a mammoth snail 

A fallen feather

a dropped leaf

a winding river

a wave-scored beach

a mysterious crevasse

at the bottom

of the sea

Undeserved

About time

Nature

cancelled

our lease

No notice

No deposit returned

if we even made one

Erase

any trace

of our occupancy

Remove

every trail

stairway

and rail

Plant prairie

and oak tree

cool mornings

and silence

Focus

Always focused
on the horizon
the distant
the future
the dawn light
that has already traveled
countless miles
before today
Focus
on the moment
what is blooming
what is dying
Focus on here
Focus on
Now

Enough 7/27

This isn't

a question

Enough peace

flows

in this river

in the rippled wake

of a serene

water bird

in the piping call

of a hidden chickadee

in the sudden splash

of a leaping fish

Enough peace

to fill

my empty cup

Enough

Inside/Outside

Inside

inside my head

inside

the dead-end corner

of my own devising

where

my shoulders

fold in

and clench

my lungs

as if an invisible burden

were 

bending me

in two

Outside

there is not limit

to the sky

Stretch

unfold

release

breathe

Forecast 7/25

If we knew

what might come

after the storm

the delay

the disruption

the destruction

If we knew

the air

will feel lighter

the burdens

less

If we knew

peace

If we knew

Above

Lady Sun

dances

in a swirl

of lavender rose

above

our gleaming ugly

machines

our roaring cars

flashing lights

The music

she moves to

is silent

felt only

in the heart

Homage

Longing

for good news

when

good news

is abundant

simple

and majestic

as a tender blue sky

caressed

by passing clouds

riding

on afternoon breezes

Homage to what?

Remembered

I would
follow
the river
like a road
see where it leads
away from
machine sounds
deep into
fallow fields
where Black-eyed Susan
and wild burgamot
flower
and fade
where
cottonwood grows
near water
beside
the hidden creeks
of my childhood

Pathetic Fallacy

The sky

is not our mirror

These clouds

are not our fears

The storm gathers

the rain falls

the sun rises

and sets

Without us

In spite

of us

Given

This time

is not stolen

but given

a handful

of pebbles

rough

and polished

colorful

and gray

I take

one pebble

and move it here

More moments

remain

to be placed

or held

Apex

Most green

most lush

fullest blooms

broadest leaves

Summer

is wide open

and growing

growing

growing

Respite

Respite

is momentary

and comes

only

between heat

and storms

Momentary

but real

to be relished

then

remembered

Cloudland

I long

to travel

to cloudland

to walk the ridge

that reflects 

dawn

high

above

the trees

Early risers

Wind calm dawn

with a smiling moon

sleepy in the sky

one star-planet

winking

and Lady Sun

stirring

to the east

under a pastel blanket

No answer

There are no answers
in the clouds
only visions
only what if
There is no answer
in the river
except
reflection
movement
stones
time

(written 7/15/2020)

Golden

Between

the storms

Lady Sun

smiles

a golden

reminder

of what abides

behind

the clouds

Uninterrupted

We do not

interrupt

nature's business

carried on

unseen

rain falls

and chooses the path

it chooses

washing away

our carefully groomed

paths

weeds spring up

overnight

mushrooms

unfolding

like the negative image

of day's flowers

and the grass

whose seed

cannot be corralled

in our lawns

heaves up

the pavement

then breaks

through

Anticipatory

Lady Sun

spills

golden light

along

the shore

bringing to mind

autumn

to come

Forecast

Forecasting

is futile

fickle

at best

Forming

the future

from

patterns

of the past

an informed guess

but

still cast

like a stone

or a lure

hoping

to land

where

it's useful

Similes

The wind

high

in the trees

sounds

like rushing water

and

the water

lapping

the dock

like a surprised

chuckle

and

the chatter

on the beach

like

a flock

of agitated birds

startled by 

the wind

high

in the trees

Stirring

The wind

awakens

cool

as the border

of the clouds

dissolves

into rain

Woven

Lady Sun

and night

alternate

color

and shadow

weft of light

warp of cloud

Playful

The moon

smiles

her farewell

as Prufrock's 

cat-foot fog

pads a sly paw

into the playground

twining the merry-go-round

and slithering

down the slide

What? See lines 15-22

Stalled

Clouds sulk

in the still air

as rain falls

fitful

and sparse

Even the sun

hangs low

on the horizon

stalled

Sleepy sisters

In the east

Lady Sun

lingers

languid

in sultry twilight

In the west

the moon

lingers, too,

her glowing face

her sister's

reflection.

Flower

Lady Sun

and her brother

the river

flow together

creating

a fire-flower

fleeting

as a firecracker

but far

more

magnificent

Ghosts

These

are the ancestors

the ghosts

What spirit

remains

witnessed

centuries

of the cycle

of shoot

flower

seed

and snow

before

we came

with our vision

and our machines

and our noise

Antidote

Antidote

for disturbed sleep

for worry-knotted nerves

for aching head and heart

Lady Sun

comes

in calming colors

Even

birdsong

is muted

Before noon

Between rain

and afternoon sun

before heat

begins to push

us inside

morning

blows breezy

to the tree tops

and flowers

lift freshened faces

to blue sky