A meditative body scan

reveals tense, tight shoulders.

I invite the shoulders to speak.

They say they’re tired of shouldering.

I nod. I thank them for all the work

they’ve done and ask if each day

 we could meet and decide together 

what is theirs to carry that day

and what they could release

into the capable hands of others.

They heave a sigh, relax, and say they’ll try.

                                                                          JDG

Our house is under surveillance;

the watchers are in nearby trees.

Once a day, the signal goes out:

“Target present. 

Seed’s made contact with rail.”

From the shadows 

the forest gang quickly appears.

                                                              JDG

On our morning walk

my focus was on matters

of great import like

what I should have said

and what I could have done.

All the while Toby ambled at my side,

sniffing the ground and air,

shuffling through the leaves,

eating grass, leaving his mark on trees.

When we returned home, he drank some water,

stretched, lay down to nap,

while I … oh, let’s not even go there.

                                                                               JDG

I looked up

and, in the winter clouds,

I saw a face with smiling eyes –

a heartening encounter

so easily missed.

                                            JDG

They have the gift 

to look beneath

the surface and see

the beauty that lies

in others’ souls.

                            JDG