Posted in Uncategorized, tagged choices, poem, poetry, presence, tree, wind on January 8, 2020| Leave a Comment »
The day dares me to become a tree,
dares me to root, to stay in one place,
to choose this here, to plant myself in this now,
to stretch down even as I reach up.
But there are gusts in me, and wild squalls,
whirling impulses that swirl and spin
and whisper to me to be current, be flow.
Winds in me that says go, darling, go.
And the day says stay to me. The day
says, find evergreen in the moment.
The day offers me its ground, its generous soil.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged cottonwood, poem, poetry, resilience, seed, tree, wind on February 24, 2019| 6 Comments »
my heart a cottonwood seed
landed on rock instead of soil—
love says, time to trust the wind
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged death, gratitude, marcus aurelius, nature, poem, poetry, Roman general, wind on October 9, 2018| 2 Comments »
You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.
—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
And though the leaves blush golden and red
and though the sun cups my face like a hand
and though the chill air makes me catch my breath
the wind whispers, friend, remember your death.
And I feel so deeply, so wildly alive
as I climb the hill, slight burn in my thighs
but I cannot pretend I am deaf
as the wind whispers soft, remember your death.
The Roman generals had their slaves
whisper to them in their moments of greatness,
remember your death—even as the crowds cheered—
to help them remember be humble, be here.
And the wind whispers yes, whispers yes to me.
And reminds me to take each step gratefully.
Remember your death, it says. Live now.
And with every step, though I don’t know to whom,
I say thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged poem, poetry, resilience, snakeweed, wind on September 15, 2018| Leave a Comment »
At the edge of the cliff
the wind tousles the snakeweed
into a riot of waving fronds.
They dance and still, and dance
and still, resettling into their natural state
before being danced again.
All morning I have been thinking
about resilience, or more rightly,
resilience has visited me,
not as a thought, more as
a mandate. And here, the snakeweed,
golden flowers lit by sun,
leads me to the edge of the cliff
where the wind whips everything
that dares show up,
and the snakeweed—
stirred, disturbed and rearranged—
has never been more itself.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged la sal, poem, poetry, utah, wind on April 29, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Let’s play, said the wind.
Go away, I said.
Let’s play, said the wind.
Not today, I said.
Right now, said the wind.
But how? I said.
And the wind made a kite
of my auburn hair
and my words of dissent
skipped away on the air.
Play more? said the wind.
Um, sure? I said.
The wind played me like chimes,
played both fierce and tender,
and it whipped me and kissed me
into surrender.
You’ve changed, said the wind.
Rearranged, I said.
Play again? said the wind.
Yes, friend, I said.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged nostalgia, poem, poetry, time, wind on April 2, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged change, poem, poetry, wind on December 21, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged chicago, poem, poetry, smile, wind on November 20, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged emptiness, fall, poem, poetry, soul, wind on October 21, 2017| 2 Comments »
Last night’s wind scoured
the trees and stripped
their boughs—
it is easy in today’s calm
to wish my soul had been out
in the woods last night.
Emptiness reveals more
than all the gold, all design.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged community, may you be happy, metta, poem, poetry, wind on October 4, 2017| 4 Comments »
There are monks who sing
for the laity—May you be happy,
and today I sing it, too,
though I have not been
anointed and have no special
sway, but I stitch my song
into the morning’s ferocious wind
and send it everywhere,
May you be well.
The wind rips the words
from my lips. I sing them
again. This is all
we have in this world,
the way we choose
to meet it.
