“The woods will be very silent

if no birds sang

except those that

sang best.” Those words

of Henry van Dyke celebrate

the singing, not

the singer. There’s

no contest here.

The woods are made more full because

of all our songs.

Let each step forth

and with gusto, sing.

                                                              JDG

I woke up beset with little

fears directing

my attention

to what I’d left

undone. Thanking them for helping

me, I turned to

taking little steps

to do what I

could do right then, reassuring

those small helpers

that their message

was well-received.

                                                                   JDG

Worried,  I hurried into the

county office

and failed to see

the sign-in sheet.

Looking my way, the woman who

followed me in

said, “I left the

line above mine

blank because you were here first.” An

unexpected 

act of kindness

broadened my view.

                                                                   JDG

I looked up and for a moment

I saw the sun,

after a day

of gray, full slant

upon the trees before the day

returned once more

to gray. That glimpse

of sun, small though

it was, stays with me still and brings

its warmth and light

into a cold

and darkened night.

                                                  JDG

Seeking respite from the never

ending press of

life’s demands, I

flee to poetry

and chocolate and find sweet  refuge

there.  Slowing down

and savoring

simple pleasures

such as these provide a gentle

byway from all

those things I think

I have to do.

                                                     JDG

After days of cold, wind, and grey,

our spirits rise

with the rising 

sun. Though the cold

remains, the wind has gentled down,

and with this shift

in wind and light,

we shift too. We’re

becoming quick-change artists as

we learn the  ups

and downs of this

see-saw season.

                                             JDG

A young adolescent girl, one

hand on the wheel,

turns and looks out

her side window, 

proudly holding up the keys for

all to see.  It

seems just yesterday

I held her and

her baby sister on my lap.

How bitter-sweet

to know that to grow

they have to go.

                                                         JDG

It’s been hard to get our bearings

during these dial-

a-weather days.

Every day we’re

asking, “Coats, scarves and boots? a light 

sweater? or will

short sleeves do?”  With 

all this blowing hot and cold,

January

has been a month

that broke the mold.

                                                                JDG

Today, as I go about my

travels, I give

thanks for windshields

and their wipers

and the way they work together

to shield us from

the wind while still

allowing us

to see.  Yet, when the  rain begins

to fall, a switch

inside helps bring

some clarity.

                                                  JDG