Grateful

When the sun shines
shadows in the new leaves
of the maple
outside my window,

or when rain greets me
with a happy whisper
on the roof,
laughing
just above me,

I am grateful

for the opening
of the eyes
that see

the outline
of a hand
on the rise and fall

of the breath
in the body

and the mind
filled with thinking

and a heart
that loves
today

unconditionally

as if

there were none

before
and will
be none

when
the
day
is

gone..

Words Like Wine

These words
like wine
swirl in my head,
make me drunk
and ready to take my pen
to bed

or at least a lover
who will talk to me
and listen
to what I have gathered
in the folds
of my swollen
brain.

I am ready for all this loving.

Of all the words
that trace the edges of my fingers
and the skin on my knee.

All of the words
that, like lips,
speak,
 and then whisper,

poetry--
dry on my tongue
and as wet
as the night's
dew.

Hushed Wings

The heron returned
to the stillness of the pond
just  as the sun was setting--

Just as we were sitting down
to meditate
after stretching our bodies
back to the places
we could
when we were three
and when we were skinny girls
hanging from so many branches
laughing.

Souls fly
with enormous wings
to cross the span
of time
into flesh
and blood.

Heron's hushed wings
took us there tonight;
almost home.

Swimming to the Surface

Quiet as beads
count the blessings
in all the ways
you disappear.

More than a thousand prayers
gather in the stillness
of your belly--

a magnet
for the gentle mouths
of gold fish
and the lavender letter wings
of moths

the meditation
near the pond
illuminated at twilight
and the movement
of peace

swimming to the surface.

A Kiss on the Cheek

The moon followed me
from east to west
erasing the longest miles
of an endless trip.

She threaded her slim self
through the dark fabric of my thoughts,
pin holes and stars shining mindlessly.
These hopeless companions on a journey
of understanding how love
lands in our lives
like an unexpected kiss on the cheek.


Even when I arrive at home,
I am a million miles away
rejoicing with my awakening soul.

Urgent

Finally,
the movement
of rain
slips below
the surface
of the earth's delicate
covering,
touches the earliest green
that glow shy,
as all maiden's do,
when they discover
the eyes,
and then the slightest caresses,
of their first lovers.

Before she knows
the sky,
she is laughing,
quivering like the new leaves
on a branch
in April.

The cool fingers
exciting
as they sing softly
at the back of her hand,
and then silently

urgent

at the hem
of her skirt.

Sniffle

It doesn't take much
of the wearing off
of winter
to attract the yellow dust
that haunts the nose
like pepper
and creates a sniffle,
a tickle,
and then
a sneeze.

Despite the distraction
in my sinuses,
I am waiting
with a smile
for the eruption
of apple blossoms,
birch leaves,
and the bluets and dandelions
that already populate
the greening
of my thirsty
gardens.