In the Balance

How do I judge things?
What balance do I use?

Today's rain that waters
Our thirsty desert soil,
Relieves our eyes and souls,
Flooded California yesterday.

The lettuce I eat today
Was someone's labor,
In the hot sun,
His sweat, his sore back.

The clothes I wear
Were sewn in distant factory
A woman worked through the day
Sewing shirts that I wear.

My comfort, my life
Rests balanced on others'
Is it fair, is it just?
How can I judge?

morning light

How brave I am

in the morning light!

I can face the world,

search for God,

look forward to the future.

How brave I am!

A Wall

brick by brick
a wall
tall and high enough
to keep the world out
brick by brick
this wall
tall and high enough
to keep me in
brick by brick

Thoughts During a Concert

(for Shaye)

The voices brought me to tears,
I have heard great music.
I have seen great art,
And thrilled at others' genius,
Sat in awe of athletic skill,
And dancers' graceful motions.

And I have see others' triumphs,
Towers built into the sky,
Rockets launched into the heavens,
Highways that cross continents.

And acts of kindness,
Crossing borders and generations,
Tiny gestures of love and care,
Have also brought me to tears.

I have seen beauty, mercy,
Justice, love, and kindness.
I am blessed, truly blessed.

On Saying Goodbye

It is easier to leave
Than it is to watch someone go,
Easier to ride a train,
Than to watch it leave the station,
Or to take off
Than to watch the plane take off,
To drive away
Than to watch the car leave.
It is easier to watch the stars come out
Than the sun go down.
And it is easier to live the life
Than to watch someone's life.
It is easier to say goodbye,
If I am the one leaving,
Than to to watch you go.

Letting the Sun Go Down

I don't want the sun to set,
I want more of this day.
But I am not holding on,
I am letting it slide down
Into the western horizon.
I feel a bit melancholy,
But I know it will be back,
And tomorrow is another day.

Elements

The Sun shines
down on the Earth.
The wind blows
the rain falls
down on the Earth.
The seed spouts
up from the Earth.
I eat the plant
grown of the Earth,
the rain, the Sun,
and I am
also on the Earth.