In the space between clouds, lies sky

in various

shades of blue and

gray, and in the

space between us, these same hues lie.

What we choose to

emphasize ( space

or hue ) colors

the view we’ll hold and what we’ll see.

Will it be mood

or openness?

It’s ours to see.

                                                           JDG

There’s a lot of activity

in the air right

now. Butterflies

and wasps and bees

join hummingbirds and dragonflies

while down below,

and moving slow,

box turtles glide

past hopping toads and in the pond

brim and catfish

swim in moving

tribute to Spring.

                                                                                     JDG

On this old tree one tiny branch

glows new green with

small clusters of

rounded, young, blue

berries. Larger branches lie stripped

and bare. Past and

 future, end and

beginning meet

right here, right now and join in this

very moment

to hold it all

in timeless space.

                                                                            JDG

As I pause to let my failing

speak, shame comes first

followed by fear,

then firm resolve.

They silence failing’s faltering

voice, but as I

sit and wait them

out, failing lets

itself come close and shyly speaks.

Together we

begin again

with tenderness.

                                                                     JDG

In the early morning mist three

young deer stir, but

nothing else, not

even a breeze

moves.  All the birds are tucked away

and the sun seems

content to stay

behind the grey.

Later, a few crows emerge, but

hold their call as

we wait for the

unfolding day.

                                                                   JDG

As night slowly fades into

day, an owl sings

solo to the

disappearing

dark as a cacophony of

other voices

rise to greet the

light. Some will sing

to night while others hail the day.

In this never

ending chorus

all voices sing.

                                                               JDG

The devil isn’t all that’s in

the details. Joy

lives there too. I

remember you

at two, clad in blue overalls,

taking my hand

and inviting me

to sit on the

stairs and bump our way up to the

waiting air vent

where you showed me

                                 how to blow, with                                  

all our might, into its wide slots.

I remember

my son saying

you showed signs of

becoming a great cult leader

because you had

already a

following of one.

                                                      JDG

It’s amazing how a single

line can change a

face, a mind, a

song. Even more

amazing still is the big change

a slight shift in

punctuation

makes as you’ll see

if you remove the colon and

comma from, ” A

woman: without

her, man is nothing.”

                                                                    JDG

This past year I’ve come to live in

a place where the

very young and

poets reside –

a place where words are written first

upon the heart,

then later, on

a page – a  place

that begins in wordless wonder,

penetrating

eyes, ears, soul, skin,

and finally, tongue.

                                                                  JDG

Sometimes we have to walk a path

we didn’t choose

to places we

didn’t want to

go. Our hearts protest this change of

course. Our eyes look

back to what once

was and that is

all we see. With luck and love we

can lift our eyes

and find the path

ahead less bleak.

                                              JDG