That tiny deer looked at me

with questions in his eyes:

who are you, why are you here,

 what do you want with me

 this lazy afternoon?

                                                               JDG

Not a detour but a turning point,

this move from acquisition

to relinquishment.

                                                                    JDG

Watching the senior help the freshman

prepare for that first year away,

reminded me of the lasting bond

they share – showed me once again

how loss can sometimes lead to gain.

                                                                                     JDG

Because we’re human,

we have strong feelings –

that comes with being fully alive.

It’s what we do next that counts.

Do we use them to heal or harm,

to celebrate or desecrate?

Ah, if I can only remember this

when they wash over me 

and threaten to carry me

to places I don’t want to go.

                                                                              JDG

“Signal ahead” 

that road sign said,

reminding me

life is full of signals

if I would only look.

                                                                                  JDG

Indiscriminate sun

covers us all with warmth and light,

asks for no i.d.,

seeks no recompense.

                                                                        JDG

No tail wagging,

No rushing to the door,

just a bored glance our way.

“That’ll teach them,”

they seemed to say.

“If you leave us behind,

there’s a price to pay.”

                                                                 JDG