Incarnation…
Began with the birthing of
dawn
out of the brilliance of darkness.
Stardust drizzled from a bursting star
gifting the landscape.
A single breath
through a nostril of Divine
Wonder brought into life’s
Cosmic Mystery
Humankind…
‘we’ were added to the dance—
to the ebb & flow—
to relational
love-making of Holy Awe.
ALIVE~~~
this was
the message
spoken.
Fulfillment was
offered…
it is in our
Hands.
Get On
Quick, quick
come quickly now.
Yes…it’s time.
You know…
You see…
Come…get on—
that’s it.
Now…
all together.
Listen…
can you hear it?
It is silence~~~
Quiet now…
Empty all thought…
isn’t it beautiful?
Still, still, still
The echoes of silence.
Get on, get on
before you ‘rush’ to get off.
Keep balanced—
we are in this together.
There is no telling where the silence
will lead…really it does not matter.
And …perhaps it does~~~
If we simply silence ourselves
maybe we will come to know one another
without ALWAYS speaking.
Perhaps we will ‘see’
how similar we
are and balance on
this cosmic globe.
Silence…can you
‘hear’ the world
spinning…
You have it…
Get on~~~
the dance has
begun.
Where Will Our Children Play
We wake
and both choose our favorite blend.
Aroma rising…
‘we’ fill our cups to the brim.
You pick up the paper—
I put down the noise.
You read the headlines—
I gaze at the stars.
In between sentences you hear about the violence
and wars
while I’m perched hearing the
songs of the waking birds.
You shudder, aghast…health care
reform, deficits, tax increases,
millions of dollars to pilot air force one.
I sit beside the trees bending
to greet the sun.
A breeze runs through my hair
while a chipmunk scurries
through the blanketed grass. A
dragonfly lands resting itself upon
my knee…
You are not wrong…
I am not right.
‘We’ both ‘see’ yet, through
different lenses.
‘We’ both ask,
‘Where, where will our children
play???’
If ‘we’ don’t listen NOW and
rise for them…what will any
of this mean?
Can we ‘stop’ the division
and seek a way—
without answers, yet a common
goal of justice for all?
What really is equality?
Stop hiding in the shadows
negating what is ‘real.’
You see, you see…
get off the pulpit—
try ‘seeing’ from the pew.
Where, where will our children
play?
Are we able to get them off i pads—
so they can hear…stories,
told orally, from of old?
Are we able to avoid fast foods in
a rush to get to the next
event…
and share with them
the sacred art of
spitting watermelon seeds
(are you laughing…
remembering)?
Are we able to push them away
from the T.V. and let
them run through the
sprinkler?
Are we able to let them
fully clothed get wet?
You and I may ‘see’
differently,
but I know
We both want our
children to PLAY—
Down the Block
Down the block…
the past unseen
and it was brimming with life.
No one ‘saw’ the first ‘Son’ rise
or beheld all the shooting stars.
No one witnessed the first flower—
unfolding petals created landscapes of carpeted cushioned beds
and yet ‘she’ stood
apart, separate from any rib.
She already was
because she came from down the block.
Her voice burst, like a BANG, and opened the cosmic storm.
Yes…Sophia~~~Wisdom shook the splendor
and wonder-lust of nothingness
splashing light
radiating darkness.
It was not from her rib that ‘He’ came into
being, but He from her heart
down the block.
She needed no introduction or Heavenly Queen-ship.
Her being was love personified
and her tears
fill the pools, the oceans and rivers
who still know it was ‘she’ who
brought all things to be.
Silently she speaks as
her daughters
find their voices
down the blocks of ages past.
Desire
Tell me of your desires
and I will tell you of mine.
When I sit gazing upon a tree,
I desire every part of my being
to be nestled deep into the soil.
I want to ‘breathe’ packed in mud
and shoot through the veins of
the trunk until I’m dangling
from a branch.
I want a caterpillar to nibble
upon my leaves
and I want the birds to
sit within me singing, singing, singing.
That is my desire
and I am One with the tree.
When I splash into the sea,
I desire to be a wave folding
over & over gathering sand
and displacing it so it can discover
new shores.
I want to be calm one moment and
then move into a tempest
swirling every which way—
no direction necessary.
That is my desire
and I am One with the Sea.
When I stare at the
sky, I desire to be a
cloud…puffy, white
and full of vapors.
I want to hear the
sound of little children
magically trying to
create something from
my formation. I
desire the painted blue
screen I float within
to intertwine in me
until at last I am
One with the Sky.
When I climb a mountain,
I desire to reach its
summit just as when
I enter a canyon
I desire to get down
into its endless
abyss.
All this—I desire to
be One with the
mountain and the
canyon.
Tell me of your desires
and I will tell you of mine.
Wings unfolded, talons
outstretched,
I desire to be a hawk
lunging with the ease of
speed
eyeing the trout skimming
the water’s surface—
Darting…any sort of brake
disengaged
in my talons.
I seize the mighty fish
and off to my nest I fly…
my young already delighting
in the tasty water spectacle.
My desire in that one single
bite, a taste of holy communion,
and now my feathers dry
in the cool summer’s breeze.
My hooves touch the ground,
but in a moment of fearful
desperation I leap…my legs
life springs…a gentle deer I
desire to be.
In early mornings…the sweet
nibble of fresh grass then down
to the river the deer saunters to lap up the jewels
of the stream—
An animal of such grace.
My steps, a rhythmic dance…
I am One with the
deer and my
desires embraced.
Tell me of your desires
and I will tell you of mine.
I desire to be a bell
in a tower cast in
far away lands.
Yet, when I ring—
when my whole being
swings clanging the
chimes to the bronzed
frame…
all who listened
no matter how
far
would ‘hear’
their desires
fulfilled
and in that moment
all desires would
be ONE
and then suddenly
a Divine Reality
would whisper
Yes…your desire
is good.
Two Stones
On a shoreline
two solitary stones sat side by side
naturally, there were hundreds if not
thousands of other stones gathered
beside the two—
yet, together they gazed upon life
they shared very few words
they enjoyed basking in the sun—together
they savored the rains…being washed anew—together
they were comforted by winter’s white blanket—together
they laughed in the fog when they could not ‘see’ one another—
but, together they knew they were
side by side
never alone
Then one day—a storm raged
the waves pounded the shoreline
the pummeling crash of the ocean’s fierce breath
turned the tides—making loose one of the stones
and it was washed into the surf
carried by the waves sweeping in and out…
Gone…so it seemed—
the other stone now appeared lost
it felt the sun in a new way in the absence of
the Other
the rain now was like a tiny pool in the Other’s space
the snow fell cushioning extra layers
reminding the stone of the Other’s presence
and
when the fog rolled in the stone imagined the Other
and in the Other’s absence the stone knew
the Other near…nearer than ever
the Other was ‘transformed’ into ‘everything’
around, within and about the stone—
and its loneliness was no more
A Sailing Ship
There I was
nestled near the edge
of the shore
when suddenly it made
its way across the
glass-countered sea top…
Moving with ease,
it did not ‘see’ me and so
I carefully hid myself
behind a patch of elevated
cat tails
No sails moved this
unique vessel…
this sailing ship— not
even a motor
A large tip~~~its bow
and its stern
a giant paddle caressing
the seas
The body of this ship
strong—yet, its movement like
a soft feather tucked
inside a bird’s nest…
Closer and closer it came
I could not resist to catch
a ‘full’ glance and at that
the tail parted the sea
creating a splash which soaked me
with delight…
the sailor’s ship now submerged
and I~~~soaked with laughter
She Hung There
It was time
did she really understand
what it meant?
I think not…
“Still,” she set her silky
tent
She spun it round and round herself—
it was a ‘perfect’ fit…for now
She thought to herself…
I could stay like this forever
BUT…something began to happen
in the silent, waking months
Her cocoon, a warm safe haven
was simply too snug
so she pushed, stretched, and caught her
breath…yes~~~she heard her breath
She burst from her dwelling
a hidden womb tucked in
the branches of a
tender tree
The tent…now an empty
tomb
and she a ‘transforming’ image
of the One who first formed
her to Be
Hoodie
Can you ‘see?’
are you able to open your
heart to embrace the
‘pupils‘ you cannot view
beneath the hoodie…?
Some’one’ is underneath
the cover
Why is she/he shielded?
Have you asked?
Perhaps you’ve drawn a conclusion.
Why the choice not to
be revealed?
Has the person beneath the hoodie been abandoned,
left out, cast aside?
Has anyone touched the face
caressed the many tears
that flow under its protective
cover?
Who is truly under the ‘hoodie?’
Is it perhaps you or me?
Maybe ‘we’ don’t wear our
hoodie outwardly, but do we
inwardly?
Why the hoodie?
I don’t have the answers,
but I do know what it feels
like to have my face
touched
the warmth of a loving presence
I’ve never been the same…
Let’s try to embrace at least
one face, one invisible face
captured under the hoodie
Whooo said…
Who said one must color in between the lines?
Did they ever really take the time to look
up into the sky dancing with magical creatures
in the puffy white clouds~
Who said one must sleep during the night
and miss the splendor of the darkness
and the stars shooting across a sea of
blanketed velvet glass?
Who said the deepest truths and mysteries
in life have all been discovered?
Was ‘anyone’ really there when all
matter was formed, when energy flowed
in directions that never moved in any
way other than everywhere and nowhere?
Who said the first ‘breath‘ of life
was experienced by a human?
They’ve never seen a flower push its way through a solid rock and
blossom like it is the only thing
existing in this very moment.
Whooo said, ‘Owls’ only come
out at night?
Certainly not I…
I may not be as wise as
our ‘feathered friend’—
Yet, we can all reach for the moon.
Who said it has not already reached us
and ‘touched’ us with its magnificent GLOW.
Who said, “All things are Possible…”
Do you BELIEVE
Who said
Red Bird
In a small wooded backyard
a red bird sits upon a tree’s branch
singing a song,
the same one she sings each day
yet, she sings as if she
has just discovered her voice…
More than a thousand miles away,
in a secret garden, a red bird
sits on a branch
amongst the flowers…
She sings a song, the same
one she sings each day she visits,
and the blossoms unfold
upon hearing her sweet refrain
No matter the distance, the miles
that separate the beliefs
we hold or the ways we believe,
are the only truths…
No matter the color, black or yellow,
red or white
No matter the gender, the religion or
political stance
No matter poor or oppressed,
rich or lacking for nothing
The red bird sings,
and sings if for nothing else,
because it can
…there are those who stop
to ‘listen’
they hear the song each day and
recognize the music as if just written
for the first time and sung with a
love~~~passionate, pure and whole
The song plays on in that mysterious
dwelling ‘within’ and no matter
how misunderstood
The red bird’s song invites each of us
to find our branch
and ‘sing’ for the ‘one’ who sits
waiting, listening for our song!
I Think I’ve Lost You…
All these years
I can barely count the seasons past
I’ve been worn by the weathers
and yet it is grace that has
gently kissed my aging skin
I have known you
discovered You in countless ways
Your name endless and yet is
in my every breath whispered again
and again and again
Yet, somehow in this silence “You” seemed
to have vanished~~~
vanished entirely into my soul
I no longer have a name for you
all my knowing matters not at all
it is in the absence of knowing
I ‘realize’ it makes sense—
In losing YOU I’ve let go of
everything make believe
and yes, discovered you within me.
A Heart of ‘Seeing’
Walking upon a soft bed
of cushioned earth
‘the stump’ nearly ‘tripped’ me
Yet, I suppose all
heart moments
cause us to stumble…
I did ‘not’ always ‘see’ them
yet now it seems they
‘find’ me…these heart moments
Realizing how
deeply I need the beat
of its fusion within this
simple body—temple
of a BELOVED”S dwelling
Alas, from my knees I rise
reminding me~~~Get up…quickly
no more confessions
Only the soft ‘feather’ of love
let go, released by a song bird
singing a love song to the One
who sees the heart open, yearning, moving
within the ebb and flow
No longer tussling in the eddy
which captures…holding back spirit
Heart of ‘seeing’
you have known pain, loss
disappointment, sadness—
you have known often without knowing
the depth of love in all the unforeseen
When the Heart is ‘broken,’
love splashes outward
making ‘lighter’ the
inner dwelling
allowing, inviting more
space for love to grow
Prepare the Sail
Prepare the Sail
the sun is rising
its blaze coloring the sky
like an airbrush gone wild
with endless hues of transformation
Prepare the Sail
for truly the earth is the one
dipping downward inviting the birth of dawn
The sun does not move—it radiates
and earth bows, genuflecting
inward and then ascends as dawn
is sprung from an eternal womb
Prepare the Sail
yet, don’t get ‘captured’ in all
the busy-ness…if you must find a
moment, several in fact,
to hear your ‘breath’
listen as your chest rises
and falls…”feel’~~~turn off the mind’s activity
of all thoughts that it tells itself
it must get done
Prepare the Sail
the moon’s cycle
imbued with shadows created by
‘her’ dancing mystery
She circles…spinning
changing the tides~~~the waves crest and break to her silent song
Yes…Prepare the Sail
The voyage~~~uncharted…climb aboard, yes, get on
travel to where you really
are meant to go
get off where you thought
was your destination
it is then that you have arrived
departing
only to set sail
again and again
A Door Closed This Day…And
A door closed this day and
he could barely look me in the face
his eyes could not meet my gaze
The women, they were the first
to open the door
Birth~bearers, streaks of silver lining
in their hair…
They listened…their tears
taught me~~~the spirit flowing
I shared the story
the one from ages past
The book was meant to be in every home
yet never to be opened or read
…because only certain persons
could teach it and share its message
The voices within the book called to
me…create us, so that
others might ‘see‘
‘we are all ONE and the same’…
Don’t be afraid of the stories
I was called to the young people
preparing to receive the ‘spirit’
Their eyes…PAIN~~~
they knew so little of the story
and understood the message
but were frightened to look at
themselves…
their story
The man came to me
only after I approached him
offering to share the message
He said…
‘You need a THEME
perhaps change your topic
because the Bible is large’
I looked at his lost expression
change…the story~~~
I can only trust the “spirit’s” yearning
“Perhaps another time”—he said
I told him I understood
I could not change THE WORD
to fit into ‘a box’ of his making
and he turned, closing the door
I stepped outside…
the soft wind kissed my cheeks
the sun blinded my eyes
but there was a shadow
“picking” flowers
The spirit ‘lifted’ my saddened soul
saying,
‘Take the petals to those’ who will receive’
Doors close only to open
your being to a deeper fullness and joy
Skeletons in the Night
Erectly they stand
all holding their own unique postures
weathered by creation’s seasons
through time
Curved, broken, upright
Some placed so distinctly apart from
each other while
there are ‘others’ whose branches
intertwine as if
a union of souls
They share the same ground
which before our eyes appears flat
yet, from a distance you can
see the curvature of the MOTHER
who holds ‘her’ tiny seeds
giving them life
watching them grow to fullness
and yes, even watching them
ripped from ‘her’ being
as if they hold no purpose
‘Her’ tears fall from
the heavens
while her children
stand as silhouettes in the night sky
In the hush of winter
barren of their clothing of lovey greens draped in
spring and summer
bedecked in oranges, yellows, and reds in autumn
their skeletons so visible
adorned by a fresh blanket of snow in this
winter
Oh, lovely skeletons
so naked and looking so
empty~~~
in this time of creaking shadows
‘You’ are more full NOW
than when you wear
your coat of dangled leaves…
Yes…some of us ‘see’ you
and ‘see’ HER who created you
You, skeletons of the night
call us to stillness and wonder
A Bridge
I stood upon a bridge
staring ‘outward’
Before my eyes I witnessed
the trees swaying above my head
I saw the water swiftly moving
beneath my feet
As I gazed to my left
and then to my right
I saw the beginnings of the bridge’s path
What was the beginning?
Or the ending?
Or where the path began?
I sat now upon the bridge
drawing ‘inward’
Suddenly, I realized the “ONE”
created both distinct ends
and calls us
to the middle
the center
To the depths of where both points
meet and there is no longer division—
instead, perfect union
What if…
What if all the
streaming bodies of water
came from the tears
of those whose lives
fashioned the earth
What if they cried until the
depth reached fathoms
too deep to measure
What if their flow created
the majestic waterfalls
that, to this very day,
spill over
with a power and strength
that truly comprehends grace
What if we ‘plunged’
into these ‘baths’
of hot springs
mindful of their beginnings
cherishing their mystery
honoring the holy drops
and then, perhaps shed a few
of our own and recognize
our ‘Oneness’ in and through the other.
Distractions
Distractions…
Then the silent pounding of heart strings
Cares, worries, anxieties
Then a hushed breath in, out, in
A symphony of noises playing in the mind
THE SILENCE~~~sweet, tricky & luring
COME BACK…I know you’re there
The echo of events
Then back to quiet refrain
Is this the ebb & flow of my deepest prayer?
Can this be the calm, the chaos
BONDING
my inner stirrings to ‘see’
in all things your
‘simple,’ ‘uncomplicated,’ intoxicating wonder?
First, the push, and then
The pull…back in, back in~~~it’s safe here
BUT the ‘tent’ no longer holds
The sapling within
Bursting~~~stretching with every ounce of unforeseen ‘newness’
Life happens
It happens while we are in it~~~
See…see with eyes “closed”
The ‘Divine’ breathing in you
Your blossoms ready to
Sprout
and the beauty you
Already bring
Only now truly
Beginning~~~
Transforming
Darkness and Light
The crown of darkness enveloped the sky’s canopy…
its face hidden with delight
as if never to be discovered
Ahhhhh…creeping in
like a match to a wick
a light tore the
velvet blanket of black hues
For a moment the two
jostled poking an elbow
here and there
attempting to make room…
Then suddenly they both
grasped the magic almost
instinctively
Their colors blended
casting shadows too brilliant
to erase
Their ‘joining’
rid distinct lines of
separation, boundaries, divisions~~~
While they understood
their own uniqueness
they embraced their oneness
The light shines because
of the darkness
and the darkness gives way
for the light’s truest manifestations
Shadows subtract
the lines drawn
in the sand
No One Sees
No One Sees
and it scarcely matters
During the night
she muses
from deep within her
the loom
‘inside’ yields
the thread
anticipating her masterpiece
Hung between
a frame of branches
she spews ever so
freely
a wave of silk
dangling row by row
transfixed by playful
extensions of herself
She moves
without thinking the
pattern, trusting the
design
She herself does not even
step back to gaze of its
magnificence
Her tangled web
visible
most especially when
caught in its
weightless clutch
Daylight reveals her
hidden revelation
the sun highlights
the inner shadows
while dewdrops
sit hung upon each
fragile yet resilient
shelf
No One Sees
yet it scarcely matters
‘creation’
a gallery alive…free
and so few
dare visit its
splendor
Sanctuary
In the sanctuary of
my soul
the opening service does
not begin with
the cascading sounds
of bells chiming in unison
No, instead it is
the song of the cicadas
and the symphony of forest
insects all echoing at once
a dance of rhythmic
sounds
The sweet incense is not
the smoke from a candle’s
wick ascending through
every living, breathing cell
No, instead it is the
tender pine draped in
drops of falling rain
filling the air with
aromas never to be duplicated
The first reading
followed by the second
a responsorial psalm
flows yet without words
Each sentence a blade
of grass lifting its head
to the reader who ‘sees’
Each chapter a leaf
especially the one falling to
the ground, dying and yet
rising to a newness beyond
understanding
The Gospel…
mountain peaks,
treacherous terrain
an invitation to
an inward descent
pausing
in mystery
re-framing all
that once seemed
to make sense
Communion…
the lotus flower
floating on a clear
pond
its soft pink petals
‘bread’
it roots filled
with the sweet
essence of
‘wine’
I taste
the goodness
of creation
in this
living sanctuary
No doors
the entry way
an invitation
for all
The table…
endless
alive
the supper
in this sanctuary
always open to
receive
Vantage Point
From ‘one’ perspective
a single view
upon which all thoughts,
ideas, values, beliefs
are born
Then one day
a stirring
as a single gaze into the stars
reveals a perspective unexplored
If only to touch one single
star
and so I climbed
and climbed
and climbed…
the darkness penetrated by
the Milky Way, Orion, and the Big Dipper
I stumbled a few times
my head down so as
to watch each tempered
step
I stopped to catch my breath
only to realize the stars
began giving way to dawn
An orange sky
segued with red and yellow
the sun still a distance away
from the Earth rotating to welcome her brilliance
As I looked ‘down’ into the valley
Splashed as if immersed
in a Holy Baptism
My perspective,
my one single point
shattered
Amazed at the endless
nothingness
linking together
everything
I discovered in the lost
nowhere that yes
I was now
Here
Opened by wonder
mystery and awe…
Everything I’ve come to
know, believe, trust in
vanished as if
forgotten~~~
yet discovered
The Sun rose its head
I was blinded
and yet for the
first time
I saw a point
and then beyond
Drops
The mist
a lure
into the secret
world of ‘nothingness’
Captured, Spirit
now hanging from a
lonely branch of pine needles
drops of moisture clinging
to their ‘heads’
Yet…
nothing here is a possession
all drink freely
awaiting the sun which itself
will sip from the dew
drying almost every last drop
until the dawn
Shadows appear—
once again
vapor moves across time & space
in unmeasured speed
kissing softly not only
the slender pines but, too,
my ‘spirit’
after thinking all was lost
dampened by
the unexpected
drenched as if born anew
A Heart in the Woods
See it?
It is always there
even when darkness
tries to hide its image
See it?
In dawn’s early rising
light seeps into its open
crevices
See it?
A heart
In its center a
towering tree rises from
an earth which holds tenderly
the roots spread like a bed of
laughing dandelions
See it?
Yes, that tree…
It divides one half from another
Oh, but wait
See it?
It does everything BUT divide
See
the bridge?
It is a passage
a journey
looking back at
all the places,
discoveries,
adventures
rolling over
into
a ‘new’ place
where the only thing that
matters is
‘everything’
Everything and yet
nothing
Mind stretched
a self
unraveling from all
it has been told it is
and recognizing
as it slides over this
bridge
who it really ‘is’
for the first time.
Holy Ground
Was it ‘Holy Ground?’
How could it not be…
every step touching the face of the earth
is ‘Holy.’
Mindful of my footing,
I climbed the mountain
where the peregrines lie.
I looked up momentarily and in front
of me…a cairn nestled
beside a red leafy tree~~~
Could it be a burning bush?
No one said, “Take off your hiking boots—
the ground upon which you stand is Holy.”
Yet,
something within me whispered…
NO WORDS NEEDED.
A presence walked with me
every step of the way~~~
truly holy ground.
The Preacher
Her pulpit
a rock
She perched on a delicate green
blanket of seaweed.
The ocean’s bounty trickles
upon her feet~~~
Her sermon, only
SILENCE
and she prepares for communion.
She waits, and waits, and waits.
Her eyes wide open~~~
her pupils scan for any motion…
Suddenly,
after all the waiting,
waiting,
waiting,
right there ‘bread.’
Her beak pummels through the water
‘broken’
a fish caught in her paired scissors
and blood flows onto her feathers.
Yes, death
A small fish sustains life.
The preacher digests only what is necessary
to ‘fill’ her belly.
As the sun rises,
she seems to bow her head in thanks~~~
In silence she no longer waits, and waits, and waits~~~
She is ‘full’
Before any human eye
Beheld or grasped
One single drop
A splash
Cascading circles
Expanding
On going
and then another drop
and another
Nothing contained
Endless transformation
Darkness betwixt
With celestial bodies, galaxies
Explosions of stars
Sprinkling dust
In the grandness of a cosmos
Beyond understanding
Formations of Life abound
Ripples creating endless newness and wonder
Then suddenly breathed into
The soils of time
Uncharted,
The image and likeness
Of the SOURCE itself
Humankind birthed into
A Creation already born
Opening its arms like a mother
Welcoming her child
Into Life…
