When the sun laughs out loud after
days of dark clouds,
all nature sings.
Bradford pear and
cherry cheer, forsythia grins,
daffodils dance,
and even the
grass smiles as
squirrel and rabbit, fawn and doe
romp and play til
sun’s laughter is
finally spent.
JDG
A young blue heron came and stood,
eyeing the pond
and surrounding
land. I hope he’ll
decide to stay as others have
before. Maybe
he’ll soon be joined
by a female
friend, and who knows what might happen
then, but for now,
his calm enfolds
pond, land, and me.
JDG
For four years the one who planted
the seed of that
Chinese bamboo
saw no result,
yet she faithfully tended the
ground wherein it
lay, offering
food and water
with tender hands and patient heart.
In the fifth year
she saw it grow
to eighty feet.
JDG
That young branch, full of pink promise,
lies on the ground
next to the tree
from which it sprang.
What led to its fall just at Spring’s
halting start, is
a puzzlement.
Perhaps at last,
it lost all faith in self and Spring
while trying to
hold Winter’s white
and heavy load.
JDG
Approaching the place where the road,
one-lane and dirt,
bends west into
the setting sun,
I find the counsel that I seek.
Travel with trust,
intuition,
and gentleness.
Give thanks for sacred wisdom and
alchemy as
you journey west
into the light.
JDG
Winter, not to be outdone by
Spring, bursts forth with
a blossoming
that covers all
things in its path: ground and trees, cars
and bushes, roads
and fences too.
Undeterred, Spring
bides her time, knowing it won’t be
long til all this
competition
melts fast away.
JDG
Daffodils and forsythia
echo Cherry’s
claim that Spring has
come. Even though
she’s been wrong twice before this year,
they’ve chosen to
put their gold where
her claim is. Still,
this show of solidarity
is not enough
to stop the snow –
at least for now.
JDG
Close to the ground and pushing through,
those tiny bits
of purple, white,
and blue take their
place among taller plants and trees.
What they lack in
height, they make up
for in number,
weaving their way through grass, edging
past stones, laying
gentle carpets
for Spring’s big dance.
JDG
The willows began weeping green
as the snow flakes
fell, announcing
winter was not
in retreat as those cherry trees
proclaimed. Perhaps
next year they’ll bide
their time. They’ve learned
that cherry trees, though eager, are
not wise as they
rush to spread those
rumors of Spring.
JDG
Sometimes scattered is a good thing –
as in snow flakes,
seeds, and small acts
of kindness. Just
this morning I experienced
two of these three
when, amidst the
gently scattered
snow, I was stuck at a lightless
intersection
and someone paused
and let me in.
JDG
aholdingplace 