Momentarily Unsettled

Sometimes ancient energies come

and settle in,

claim squatters’ rights,

assume control.

The old balance of power shifts.

Anarchy rules.

Reason and will

no longer hold.

Then just as quickly as they came,

they also leave

and we begin

resettling.

JDG

Have a Good Day?

“Have a good day,” the lady chirps,

not noticing

my furrowed brow,

my straight-lined lips.

“What can she be thinking?” I ask,

when it’s quite clear

the cats have lost

their last meow,

the dogs their bark. Even the crows

are strangely mute

flying across

an empty sky.

JDG

By Whose Light

The moon in early morning light

pales beside its

former self once

ensconced in star-

bedazzled sky. Even before

the sun takes its

sovereign place, moon’s

light dims. So goes

the round of moon and sun. Each one

yields dominion

to the other;

both light the way.

JDG

How?

It’s long been known that insight comes

when all the doors

have closed, when old

ways out won’t see

us through no matter how hard we

pound. It’s only

then, when we give

up, that the new

springs into view, leaving us to

wonder how we

could miss something

so obvious.

JDG

Now

Now, between not yet and what was,

is always here

but seldom known.

Somewhere else, some

other time beckons us away,

interrupts our

stay, fills us up

with promises,

with memories, when all the while

is a present

to be opened

and lightly held.

JDG

Mode of Travel

Smooth and steady is not my style.

A sudden burst,

a pause, a dash,

a backward slide,

even a somersault or two

better reflects

the way I move.

Yes, it is true

sure- footedness is not my mode.

Yet, erratic

as I may be,

I stay in play.

JDG

What then?

What to do when a stitch in time

does not save nine

and you can’t let

sleeping dogs lie,

when even six apples a day

won’t keep the doc

away? What then?

Where DO you turn?

I guess there’s nothing left to do

but go inside

for a compass,

an inner guide.

JDG

Day’s Gold

Driving west as late afternoon

sun slowly spills

its pot of gold

across the sky,

I ponder the extravagance.

Why such a grand

display as dark

comes slowly forth

to claim the day? But why hold back?

Why not fill night’s

waiting arms with

all the gold of day?

JDG

Lingering

Winter is destined to win out

but Fall hangs on

with promises

to stay the course.

Like many a politician

who has flamed out,

Fall lingers still

in barrenness,

hoping much-desired warmth will

make up for all

that is missing

and did not last.

JDG

Finding Our Ways

All the trains have left the station

but not with me,

although I left

the station too.

Our final destination will

be the same – still,

I’m glad I found

a way less fixed

to travel there, even if I had

to jump some tracks,

annoy some folks

who move in packs.

JDG