I Am Learning

I am learning that

• nothing lasts forever,
• if you feed birds, you will feed squirrels and mice as well,
• it's not what you plant, but what grows.
• the wind is brutal,
• everything does not bloom at the same time, nor as long as I might like.
• peas taste better eaten in the garden,
• everything moves, including rocks,
• I never have enough flower pots, or seeds,
• I find spontaneous moments of joy in our garden (if I don't focus too much on what the earwigs have eaten!).

Today is Independence Day in the USA... The earth is at its Aphelion.  The moon is full and prenumbrally eclipsed.  Our grandkids are in town.  And, today is Day 114 of our COVID-19 isolation.

For Cindy

I am amazed
At this river’s current
Powerful volume,
Never ending,
Never running dry.
I might dip my hand in it
And feel the power and pressure
Of the water
Flowing down from the mountains,
Flowing through the continent,
Flowing on to the ocean,
Becoming ocean,
And then returning
As storm clouds,
Rain and snow on the mountains
And then stream and river again,
Carrying bits of the mountains
To the oceans.

I stand here
On the bank
In this flood plain,
Witnessing the power
That carries everything
Down stream,
Amazed and cautious.

When the Wind Stops... We Sing!

I didn’t think I had an argument with God
Though I knew I didn’t completely agree,
With the weeds in my garden,
Or whatever’s eating my plants…
I’m beginning to wonder if He objects to
My planting beans this year.

And what is it with this wind?

(The tougher of our plants simply continued to bloom after a full day of furious, hot dry winds yesterday!) 

just write...

Summer Solstice

star dust... and sunshine... celebrating just being...

Expansion and Contraction

I've seen the earth stretch out
in the evening as the sun sets,
when I haven't traveled
as far as I thought I would that day,
and more, much more I did not see,
and I wished to be there
instead of here, where I am.

But then, I've seen the earth contract
late at night as it cools,
and everything is lit by a campfire,
or is contained within four walls,
with the windows closed,
and it's all on the television screen,
or on the pages of a book,
and there's nowhere else I want to be,
but right here, where I am.

On Day 95 of Isolation

I fold my arms
as if to embrace myself,
bow my head
and close my eyes,
collapsing my world
around me like a comforter.
All the universe is now
just what is within sight,
within hearing,
and within reach.
Even with the wind blowing,
here I find peace.