“Like Water”

Posted on Friday, September 11th, 2015

“Like Water”
 
It sounded like water,

Escaping a pipe—

Running out from

Under my home;
 
Sparkling water,

Channeling free,

From rupture of

Uncertain origin;
 
I searched in all

Directions with

No success until

In stillness determined,
 
My leak was a rush of

Sparrows flying gleefully

Onto fig tree whose

Fruit had just ripened.
 

“The Eight”

Posted on Tuesday, July 7th, 2015

Walked with eight hardy teammates
Into faded red-paint boathouse
Each morning at sunrise;
Hardly awake as callused hands
Gripped the racing shell and
Coxswain barked Ready—Lift!
Four on each side they carried
Shell waist-high on gangplank to
Water’s edge—until Halt was coughed;
In unison they placed shell gently on
Water and each second oarsman
Retrieved two thirteen-foot oars,
While mates held shell
Bobbing alongside dock
Eight oars secured in locks;
Then coxswain boomed Ready!
Each stretched foot onto
Slide within—listening again,
Push off! – drifting onto
A creek leading to sound,
Thence bay—miles distant;
In all seasons of year—on flat water
As when the sea was fractious,
At first light—fog—and brilliant sun;
They rowed in cadence set by
Coxswain who was there to berate—
Cajole—demand —and yes encourage;
Such is life and if one still doubts,
Glance on those gnarled hands
Which still race this soul along.

Tip Toe Tip

Posted on Sunday, July 5th, 2015

Oh I wish
I walked
With stealth like
That egret
In the water
Beside my home;
Tip toe tip
Up the canal
To the bay,
Watchful patient
For that morsel,
Long sought;
Can I learn to
Follow his instincts,
Be patient–still,
Focused–alert,
Persevering,
And yes gentle?

“Duck-Blinds”

Posted on Monday, January 26th, 2015

“Duck-Blinds”
Sturdy black iron
Slated fences mark
Those four homes opposite—
Across the flat pond;
Aging residents
Gather with loved ones
Wondering where youth—
Dreams vanished,
Listening to
Water-spray from pond
Like white-noise to dull
Lost consciousness;
Above flocks of geese
Fly in formation to
Escape hunters huddled in
Camouflaged duck-blinds.

“In the Presence of Yahweh”

Posted on Friday, April 18th, 2014

 
In The Presence of Yahweh
 
Woke early—before dawn,
After dreams that took me
Far away in time—miles distant to
Where I recognized not a soul;
 
I was challenged to express
Who I am in words unknown,
Learning more of myself—
Loneliness-mortality than
 
When surrounded by
Clatter-crown busy-ness;
I had no fear—was in fact
Intrigued by my surroundings,
 
Sensed inexplicable familiarity,
Experienced assurance,
Time did not threaten with
Its limits: age—years–health
 
Treasures to be sought
Did not matter—
My only passion was to
Listen and learn soulful
 
Communication to express
Deepening love in new words,
Envisioning with soul eyes
Interplay of creation in harmony
 
In the presence of Yahweh