One minute I arrive, the next minute

I depart. I’m

trying to

lengthen

the

time

I spend

with my best

self before my

less-than-best self carries me far away.

                                                                    JDG

I look to the sky, hoping a poem will

parachute down

and hit my

page, but

no

not

today,

not like that

anyway. I

look to the ground, but no sprout can be found.

                                                                                JDG

With folded hands pressed against my chest, I

offer myself

comfort right

here, right

now.

I

breathe in

love, hold it

close, accepting

myself, offering kind understanding.

                                                                                  JDG

Those grackles came late to the feeder, left

all aflutter

when no food

could be 

found.

We

can be

more like them

than we’d care to

admit, squawking when we find empty shelves.

                                                                                JDG

Unexpected tears – saw a white-haired man

walking his dog,

remembered

I’m old

too.

Then

I saw

another,

more important,

truth. That old man and I are still walking.

                                                                    JDG

How many times have I said to myself,

I can’t be in

two places

at once,

but

when

I saw

the full moon

reflected in

the still pond, I thought, “Oh, that’s how it’s done.”

                                                                                          JDG

When this patch of land claimed me as its own,

something in me

finally

came to

rest.

Next

to the

pond I built

my nest, and found

 my heart’s forever home among these trees.

                                                                               JDG

Toad and cat must have had a lover’s spat.

Hour after

hour toad

watched for

signs

of

a change

of heart as

cat sat, back turned,

resolute, behind that thin wall of glass.

                                                                                                             JDG

I want to follow my breath, but my thoughts

lure me away

til something

in me

spots

where

I’ve gone.

I’m grateful

for that watchful

presence of which I’m mostly unaware.

                                                                                                                           JDG