In early morning
stillness, as the sun slowly
eases its way past
the horizon, I sit at
rest. Suddenly my
mind stirs and starts shoving old
furniture around
the room, surveying it first
from this angle, then
from that, shattering the peace.
Something else within
awakes and softly invites
the mind to let it
be, at least for now, and watch
as day slowly fills with light.
JDG
What I learned from years
gone by was to be patient
as I awaited
Spring. After all, snow still lay
fresh upon the hills.
But, when I saw that vase of
golden daffodils,
all patience fled, leaving me
instead, a bouquet of longing.
JDG
Against the evening
sky a pale rainbow arches,
touching the slowly
disappearing snow. The sun,
at horizon’s edge,
splashes magenta and soft
gold, leaving us with
a promise, as this day fades,
of sunny days still to come.
JDG
Long ago I dreamed
of the school bus stopping at
my door and children,
full of stories of their day,
coming home to cups
of steaming hot chocolate.
Trite perhaps, but fresh
for me. What I didn’t know
then was that the dream,
realized or not, would end, but
would live on in memory.
~
SAME POEM, SECOND VERSION
Long ago, before marriage
and before kids, I dreamed
of school buses stopping and kids,
full of stories coming home
to steaming cups of rich hot chocolate.
The dream and the parenting ended there
with stories and hot chocolate.
How much easier it all was back then
in my adolescent imagining.
JDG
As those ravens shift
from sun to shade, their wings shift
from iridescent
black to a more somber hue.
Like the ravens, we
shift too as we go from bright
to gray and then back again.
JDG
Right in the city
on the art museum’s grounds,
in a tall, leafless
tree, two large, white-bellied
birds reside. As we
struggle to name and classify
( hawk? eagle? or some
other bird?), they spread their wings
and briefly soar, then
land in nest and nearby branch –
an art of their own making.
JDG
I thought the snow might
slow things down or bring them to
a stop, but what I
failed to factor in was kids plus
snow does not result
in stop or slow. Instead, it’s
mostly go, go, go
in and out and all about
til I’m spinning like a top.
JDG
Some days the squirrels,
the birds, the deer, choose wisely
and stay tucked away,
shielded from the snow and ice,
as our Toby roams
about searching for a pal.
One part Saint Bernard
and one part idiot, he’ll
comb the hills for some
creatures, large or small, to save
in hopes that once revived, they’ll play.
JDG
A small fire brings
warmth to heart and home when skies
are overcast and
winter’s chill is in the air,
when freezing rain falls
steadily on last night’s snow.
The fire doesn’t
even need to heat a room.
We find light and warmth
enough in its flickering
flames, its softly glowing coals.
JDG
As I grew older,
I hoped the proportion of
words considered to
words spoken would increase. On
my better days, that’s
been the case, but on all those
other days, alas,
the ratio is inverse
as reason and I regress.
JDG
aholdingplace 