Watching the sun light
up the land and dance among
the trees, I’m dazzled,
not just by the light, but
by how quickly things
can change. After days of rain,
rain, rain, the clouds shift
from gray to pink to white, but
by noon that self-same
day the sun has hid and we’re
back to gray – though it won’t stay.
JDG
Two mallard ducks, circling the pond in
early morning
light, call out,
“Stop and
look.”
I
call back,
“I’ll try but
I have stuff to
do.” “It can wait,” they say and so I do.
JDG
Winter woes remain.
Though spring has come, so has
icy rain and snow.
~~
~~
What? Those snow flurries
failed to close the schools this time?
– a winter wonder.
~~
Winter wind blows cold,
chases the warmth away, leaves
behind these poems.
JDG
The full moon smiles
back at itself – deep meeting
deep in sky and lake –
darkness lightly holding all –
sky and lake, moon, and me.
JDG
No snowflakes in sight
so this winter wonderland
must find its wonder
in another place. Perhaps
it lies in a child’s eyes.
JDG
At the Winter Solstice
(By Hanna Lange)
I believe that darkness ultimately gives way to light, and so at the Solstice, I affirm these things for myself, at the turning of the year. I believe that compassion and wisdom are sown in the fields of suffering, although not exclusively there. I believe that the pain born of my mistakes and those of others can serve a greater purpose. I believe that I must fight not to rush into gratification without pausing for gratitude. I believe that I am constantly called to move toward my best self. I believe I have a responsibility to seek and speak my truth. And I believe, no matter how long or dark the road before me looks, if it leads me to my highest self, the birthright promised to us all by the divine, then no matter how tired or frightened or lonely or angry or confused I may be, I can do no less than take up a torch and follow it, because it is the right road, even when it is not an easy one.
Earlier there was
talk of snow, but we’ve been left
with cold rain instead.
A slight shift in temperature
could have turned this bleak
day white. Still, crow has let me
know that bleak has a
beauty too and from its plate
other creatures can
dine with far greater ease than
snow’s loveliness can provide.
JDG
Instead of demanding things be
other than they
are, perhaps I’ll
spend some time with
what is and get to know it well.
What will come of
this, I do not
know, but one thing
I know for sure: this is a much
different tack
than any I
have tried before.
JDG
When Thurber asks us
to consider what we are
running from, to, and
why, he’s not being funny
anymore. He’s serious.
JDG
I want to throw off this summer
blanket of heat
and haze which lies
so heavily
across these hills. I want to run
cool and free in
morning’s first light.
I want to hear
the clear call of other early
birds. I’d even
welcome the caw
of crow if it
could pierce this heat.
JDG
aholdingplace 