When the dark winds blow and the rain

won’t stop, when a

high and steady

ground can’t be found,

I wrap myself in the solace

of small things and

take refuge there –

 in the gentle

purr of a sleeping cat, a  dog’s

   soft nudge against

my outstretched hand,

a child’s laugh.

                                                                JDG

“He’s gone,” she said, and I am left

to pull apart

the threads I wove

to catch a dream

and then break free. The threads themselves

are real enough

and now begins

the harder task

of gently taking things apart

and letting threads

be only threads

and nothing more.

                                                             JDG

Heading east from home, half-blinded

by the morning

sun, I think of

all the ways I

make my travels rough by going

against the light.

It would be so

much easier

if I were more in tune with the

natural course of

things and went with

the flow of light.

                                                           JDG

Heading east from home, half-blinded

by the morning

sun, and later

on a homeward

path, driving west, we’re blinded once

again. Whether

we go against

or with the flow

of light affects how well we’ll  see

what can be seen

at journey’s start

and journey’s end.

                                               JDG

There’s much to learn while I have time

and it’s mostly

of a softer,

slower kind. I’d

like to walk my land and name each

flower, shrub, and

tree, match each bird

with its song, note

the patterns of the nighttime sky.

All this and more

awaits my eye,

my heart, my time.

                                              JDG

Some things take less than a minute:

a smile, a scowl.

a smirk, a leer,

a hand outstretched,

a tightened fist, a glance exchanged,

averted eyes,

an opened door,

a door slammed shut,

moments taking less than sixty

seconds, silent

lingerings  for

an hour, a life.

                                                             JDG

As lightning darts across the sky

this night, my friend’s

question flashes

too: “Today when

did you feel most alive?” Moments

from the day spark

the night and bring

an outpouring

of thanks for so much liveliness

unseen before

a friend’s question

brought them to life.

                                                                         JDG

When the channel was not so clear

and the airways

were clogged with paid

for rage and rant,

we channeled too, sending forth

a clear flood of

emails, letters,

phone calls and notes

to help that channel become clear

and not let fury

block the flow of

reason and fact.

                                                            JDG

It’s never easy being caught

between, be it

friends or seasons,

wants or reasons.

When all’s in flux, we need to find

the steadiness

of heart and mind

to keep us true

til everything gets sorted out

and what will be

has finally come

and settled in.

                                                    JDG

Early morning darkness called us

to another

world, these two dogs

and I, and so

we went, the dogs drawn to the ground

and I to sky.

Their noses sought

traces of those

gone before, while I looked upward

to moon’s clouded

light for some sign

of what’s to come.

                                                                     JDG