Undaunted by the vast grey sky,

those daffodils

have their tiny

say  anyway.

Telling tales, both short and tall, of

springs past and those

yet to come, they

invite others:

hyacinth, forsythia, and

more, to add their

voices to this

shout out to spring.

                                                        JDG

After a day of clear blue sky,

evening comes with

a rush of pink

just before dark

settles in and finds me waiting

for stars and moon.

In this moment

in between, the

unrippled pond holds trees and sky

in a spacious

clarity that

holds even me.

                                                     JDG

There will be no sleeping in this

Saturday. The

cool, damp nose pressed

to my cheek is

 followed by a gentle push of

paw. Opening 

my eyes,  I see

arrayed around

the bed, four, furry, hungry friends,

two dogs, two cats,

suggesting I

begin the day.

                                                               JDG

On my way for a morning cup 

of joe, I walk

by Canada

geese who raise their

heads and look at me as though to

say, “Don’t dismay

at this recent

burst of snow. It

won’t last. The cold won’t hold. The arc’s

toward Spring.” I

know they know so

 I walk with ease.

                                                       JDG

I awoke to the fall of white

and wrapped myself

in its beauty

and its descent,

knowing it would slow down the day

and let me too

descend into

a timeless place

where peace and white reside and, for

a time, I could 

stay, find my breath,

and softly rest.

~

Nature’s power took our power

and in the swirl

of snow and wind,

we huddled next

to our gas-lit fire and, wrapped 

in blankets, read.

We’re glad to have

this other source

of  man-made heat til Dominion

Power again

claims its power

and  I, some peace.

                                                     JDG

In our seventies, a hot date

on his birthday

takes us past a

site he’s eager

for me to see: The Cremation

Society.

 Thus he joins this

moment to life’s

ending and to life’s birth, a move

that seems strangely

fitting now that

we’re past our prime.

                                                                       JDG

Sometimes a certain sadness comes

to call and I 

have learned to let

her in.  All she

needs, she says, is a quiet place

to lay her head.

I offer her

my shoulder and

there she rests as we, together,

sit without words

and rock. Thus held,

she seldom stays.

~

Sometimes sadness is joined by fear

and her constant

stream of words won’t

let us rest. No

matter what we say or do, she

won’t stop warning

us of  all that

could come our way.

Only when compassion comes can

fear settle down,

take a breath, and

find comfort too.

                                                                JDG

When the sun springs out from behind

the clouds, something

in me springs up

too.  It’s not just

the light that lifts me up, it’s the

warmth with which the

light’s received by

 pond, land, and trees.

What before was only clear is 

now also warm and 

bright on this brisk,

cloud filled, March day.

                                                                         JDG

In defiance of the cold, grey

day, those four small

daffodils in

the median

lift their yellow trumpets and start

to play. The geese

respond in kind; 

Spring’s orchestra

is tuning up as robins take

their season’s seats

among tiny

shoots of first green.

                                                                 JDG

Some trees, eager for Spring, burst forth

in pink, looking

with pity on

their slower, more

prudent friends. Seizing upon warm

invitations,

these eager trees

don their gowns and

attend the dance only to be

caught by surprise

when it’s cancelled

due to weather.

                                                          JDG