Dreams of fading pictures
Possibility and problem
In my palm,
A tree stands,
Wizened in the winds
Of love and pain,
Sorrow and joy
These are
My now,
My was,
My will be.
I see
In the shadows,
The dim light of knowing
Passed the sight of the sun,
All that is mine
Spilling down over
The rocks and sand
A maelstrom
That I hold in my other hand
~

A pebble falls
In the water
Reach out for me
Each breath you take
Breathe for me
Alone is never alone
Life is never life alone
You wear your misery well
Let me take your coat for you
The candle lights your face
I see the seduction of morose
In your eyes
You wear your pain
Like an embrace
The roundness of the pebble
Weighs in my hand
Immovable
The pebble can only
Fall
It falls,
And never do I hear
The splash
~

Love is a fierce cord
Discordant
Harmony
Life reflected
In a dewdrop
In another set of hours,
Minutes, days
We are side by side
Not separated by
An ocean of time
A circle that cannot
Be complete
In this life.
In the dream
I can feel the strength
Of your hand
Holding me still
Holding me
Still
And in the morning light
I know that I cannot
Let go.
Love is a fierce cord
Discordant harmony
Hold me in the torrent.
In the morning,
All remains.
~

Drawn to water
We watch, we drown
In the rapids
In the unknown maelstrom
To cleanse
To live again
Life is a river –
Jump in
I want to float to a quiet place
Where the water eddies and swirls
In the shade of a weeping willow
Whose branches lean
Down to kiss the water
I want to sit at the river’s edge,
On the wooden bridge and dip my toes
In the water
when the water gets too cold
And the minnows bite like sharks,
I will stand and
Walk
Further
We stand on the shores
Watching
We bathe in the water
To come clean
We drown
Life is a river
Streams, creeks, lakes
Join and divide
All water flows out
To somewhere
Life is a river –
Jump in
We watch, we drown
We sit calmly in the water’s arms
Balanced precariously
On a boat that should not float
We check for wholes, holes
In the boat
Not a soul without us
Another day of fishing
~

Kindred spirits meet
Not by chance
But in spite of it
A candle dances brightly
In the gentle breeze
Hearts skip a beat
How can this be?
It simply is…
Enjoy the moment
Every breath,
Every last rose.
~

My soul
Barren
Save for a question
Light shines down and out
Instinct moon
Love
Figured
Peace
Whisper to me
Like the wind
Fill me
~

Drink from this cup of tea
Feel the ridges
Where the cracks mark
Its ceramic face
Heat radiates from it
As I cup it in my hands
I watch the leaves of tea
Swirl and float,
Dancing with each sip
~

The pebble is smooth
Weight in my hand
Worn by the waves
That rocked it
Gently to shore
Holding this pressured
Piece of earth
I am overwhelmed by its beauty
Complete, rounded, solid
Some of the stones break
Beneath my feet,
Fragile slate and dried mud
But you, dear pebble,
Remain outwardly unchanged,
If I have left a mark
It is one I will never see
I have thought of those unknown marks
Finger prints and butterfly wings
Tiny ripples in the ocean
A mark left in ignorance
Is still a mark
Pebble,
Your strength holds me still,
Your simplicity wears and shapes me
~

Your simplicity shapes me,
Your strength holds me still.
Your cool core calms me,
And your weight is my anchor
You wear your mantle of history,
Etched by layers of sand and water,
Wisdom and truth
Time is meaningless to you,
You bear it like the gentle
Embrace of the evening tide.
If I hold you too close, will you
Crumble to sand, like the dried mud
Beneath my feet?
Really, I know it is I, who will crumble
And you will go on
Being warmed by the slowest movement,
The softest, lightest breeze.
~