“Let me listen to Gaba not

listening,” he

said and she aimed

the phone my way.

“Ah,” her uncle said. “It sounds just

like it did when

I was young. Wait

til she puts her

book down and try again. You’ll have

better luck when

no other words

are in her head.”

                                                  JDG

After Saturday’s soaking rain

the garden glowed

in Sunday’s sun,

gathering ants

and flying things to its fulsome

breast. All creatures,

winged or crawling,

could find respite

there – even a tiny, torn-winged

butterfly who

settled on sun

lit purple sage.

                                                                         JDG

When hummingbird, raven, and snake

show up and join

cicada and

squirrel, I

begin to wonder what’s stirring

in these realms, and

when gorilla

also appears,

I know this unlikely band has

some strange music

to play for those

with ears  to hear.

                                                         JDG

All that was and all that is form

the tapestries

of our lives. We

take the threads we

have been given and the ones we

choose and weave them

into patterns

we can only

sometimes see. I want to weave with

the bright threads of

compassion and

lighthearted joy.

                                                     JDG

In the collage I made today,

two gorillas

share a knowing

glance as a raft

carries a startled, helpless man

quickly downstream.

Water wildly

churns all around

and they look at each other as

though to say, ” And

they call themselves

the evolved ones?”

                                                                                                                                    JDG

 (With thanks to my friend Betsy Jewell for her comments in the Soul Tending Workshop)

Treading air outside my window,

you paused as though

to say hello.

Though small, you’ve chased

off eagles and searched for sweetness

with equal zest.

Up here on the

second story,

no flowers bloom; no eagles fly

so I just have

to ask what brought

you here today?

                                                    JDG

For a brief while cicadas sing

a creation

courting song. They

don’t count the years

they spent unseen, their songs unsung.

Rather, they sing

wholeheartedly,

eager to bring

into being their appointed

song and find their

place in nature’s

grand symphony.

                                                        JDG

From the ground and from the air, snake

and raven speak

in the ancient

animal way,

alerting us that magic is afoot and change

is on the way.

Will we greet these

messengers and

note what they have to say? Will we

open ourselves

to  a realm where

animals speak?

                                       JDG

Outside my window squirrels launch

themselves from branch

to branch, moving

easily on

the green highway of tall-standing

trees. Switching from

lane to lane, they

seldom take the

same route twice, making me question

the comfort I

feel traveling

my well-worn paths.

                                                               JDG

Amidst dark thoughts and churning fear

a sudden, slow

dissolving came

unannounced and

unexpected, evoking peace

and puzzlement.

Without effort

or intent I

was given respite from myself

and found refuge

in boundlessness,

a saving grace.

                                                JDG