A family of robins
Are having a feast
On what, I do not know
Perhaps the berries from the holly tree
That have fallen in the snow

Heavy Rains

Heavy rains are pouring down
The leaves let go of their trees
As Fall embraces the wet ground
A woven tapestry

Biker Week

Like buzzing bumble bees
“Biker Week” at OC
And I am caught
In the middle of the swarm

Catbirds

Inpatient catbirds
Demanding more seed
Unable to grasp
The promise of

“Later”

Pine cones

Pine cones scattered across the snow
By the wounded evergreen
In hopes of Spring Eternal
A continuation of her – offspring

She has received a “trim” of her needles
From Mother Nature
Unprovoked
Covering the melting snow
As if it were on purpose

Where once was crisp and white
Now dirty with OUR stuff
Among the fallen needles,
Pine cones – seeds forthcoming
We find hope

Awareness

A ball of clay
Lovingly scooped from
The Great Mother Earth
Formed into a perfect vessel
Divinity

Encased in a crust
By conditioning
By society’s norms
By their truths

A usable vessel
With years of great Blessings
With years of great use
Loving
Being Loved
Healing
Being Healed

Seen by herself
And others
As the outward appearance
As the titles she carries
Illusion

Empty and Filled
Over and over
Learning
Understanding
Grasping
What is her purpose?

Slowly she notices
The cracks in the surfaces
Is there reason to worry?
No, it’s just expansion
Evolving

Those dried and hardened pieces
Kilned into place so long ago
Begin to fall off
Sometimes it is painful
Sometimes it is terrifying
Sometimes it is wonderful
Always … it is healing
As the soft, supple clay begins to show up once more

She becomes aware
She becomes fluid
Able to move with the
Flow of any wind that comes her way

Aware of the tiniest bird
But not just the bird
His wing
His eye
His movement
His voice
His presence
His apparent awareness of me
His energy
Noticing our differences
Yet, realizing
We are the same
Purely because we exist
Part of the whole
Divinity
Awareness
Being

For another Old Friend

I lost another old friend last week. She was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer and Bone Cancer in the Spring of 2009. She was apparently doing well until the beginning of this month. By time she shared with the community what was going on she was diagnosed as "terminal." She passed away about a week after I found out she was sick. She touched my life in many ways when we were between the ages of 18-25 or so. I dedicate the following poem to her. An angel now watching over me.

Saying “Good-bye” to Kathy

Such a special person
From years ago
Slipped out of my life
Unseen

The memories come flooding back
Of all our times together
First apartment, lasagna making,
Car stuck on a snow bank –
Desperate grocery shopping trip

Support beyond measure
Hand-holding through the pain
Of losing my mother at an age
Way to young

And now, her children
Sadly, experience that same pain
I only hope they have friends
As dear as she was to me

A friend who was able to
Keep the calm among the storms
Reminding me that I’ll be ok
She is with me, each step of the way

And now some precious words she shared
With a friend as she lay dying:

'Our hearts are so connected
that no matter
where we are in time and space,
we'll never be apart.'