Invisible Work

"the way worms in the garden tunnel ceaselessly so the

earth can breathe and bees ransack this world into being."

Worms have a special place in my heart due to their diligent,

unglamorous, labor beneath the surface, in the dark.

There are mothers for everything, and the sea is a mother too,

whispering and whispering to us long after we have stopped listening.

This wants to break my heart into tiny pieces.  The grief of

how the sea is treated...as a dumping ground for debris by the ton,

is constant and heavy, yet, I keep telling myself we can heal this.

We can turn things around...listen to the whispering...

hear the message from the deep...alter the trajectory 

and restore healthy balance.

 

The Blue

"the zone where the unexpected dwells,

waiting to come out of it in the shape of bolts."

Honestly not crazy about the shape of bolts even

though that is the way the unexpected typically arrives, isn't it?

"I am at home with this heaven of the unforeseen. . ."

I am decidedly NOT at home with this...

although I find myself getting just a tiny bit better

at not going to pieces when unexpected 

inconveniences occur.

I've learned that I can actually 

take a breath and adjust

with a strong measure of grace 

and a great deal of 

quiet/outloud whining.

Isn’t it interesting?

I assume the unexpected

will be inconvenient...or worse.

Hello!! Good things happen

unexpectedly also!!

No whining necessary.

 

Swaddling The Sorrow

"Swaddle the Sorrow"

Such a tender, tender way to treat sorrow,

to wrap it tightly in a warm blanket,

hold it close to your heart and 

croon soft tunes of understanding.

Allowing it to scream and wail and thrash

around as it weeps through the sorrow

is no small gift...it is mighty care. 

Walking floors, rocking for hours,

the sorrow will surge and subside,

surge and subside...slowly giving way

to exhaustion and calm.

"when something feels safe enough

to be what it is, it can't help but lift,

drift, can't help but slip into

something more comfortable."

 

Except For The Body

While I  agree that next to a loved one,

"trees are [one of] the most beautiful forms on the earth."

Rivers are coming to mind, 

spider webs, 

sunflowers,

all kinds of flowers,

waterfalls,

mountains,

grass of parnassus,

moss,

this list goes on and on.

Aren't we the fortunate ones to live on this Earth?

Aren't we the fortunate ones to die on this Earth

and become part of it?

 

I No Longer Pray

Oh my, can you imagine living in such a manner?

To know when to recede and when to rise?

I'd like to believe that the overwhelming majority of us

who are NOT happy with how things are going

have fingers on the button advising us

as when to recede (now) and when to rise.

I feel poised for the go ahead to rise. 

May it come at just the right time

with just the right set of instructions

and may we all answer the call.

To never mistake either for defeat?

It wasn't long ago that I found myself

writing I was allergic to win/lose language.

It felt like it came out of nowhere yet

I realized in the typing how true it was.

We are recalibrating...adjusting dials...

correcting the skewed course our country

is currently on.  

This vessel will listen to the winds of hearts

and adjust the route we're taking...

unto a path that moves us toward

the values we cherish.

I know you know what they are.

We're in this together.

We have what it takes to make it happen.

 

How Would You Live Then?

This poem animates the world around us

in such enchanting ways you can't help but 

start to see things from this perspective.

I'm not entirely sure I want a mockingbird as an advisor,

but I would gladly welcome an owl, a horse; nor

would I refuse a spider or an earthworm. 

If forced to choose one, I would have to go for the spider

with it's amazing creative capabilites.  

The more I consider this, the more creatures come to mind,

I'm going to have to create a roundtable of cabinet members.

We all know, sad as it is, if the bees were filling our walls 

with honey, the exterminator would be getting a call, right?

I would be forever grateful for a brook sliding downhill 

next to my bedroom window..it's all the prayer I need.

I raise a glass, tip my hat and bend a knee

 to the silver of water and the gold of sunflowers. 

 

The Anniversary We Needed

This is tardy for the actual anniversary but 

still powerful and seems fitting for 9/11 anniversary as well.

"grief is an active ingredient in the soil of necessary change."

I do not relish that this is true.  Sorrow is HARD

and there are many ways to avoid stepping into it,

yet it is vital for our health and wellbeing...

it makes us more complete human beings.

"this moment looks, of course, like a win for the old ways, 

but if you see through the clouded waters you'll find that the final

gasps of power are coming from an empty, crumbling stage."

May it crumble fast and contribute its compost

to a more just, dignified and healthy world for all.

"let us do as our founding document requires 

and declare our hearts for something greater--

not for the nation we have or have been, 

but the one we believe we can be."

My heart replies with a fervent yes, yes, yes. may it be so.