Monday, May 20, 2013

ceremony



Today I burned sweetgrass incense 
while i tended the garden.  
A steady eastern wind blew— 
so I sheltered the smoking stick 
behind the old tree stump near the garden beds.  
The scent rose into the sky 
and floated through the air— 
permeating my yard— 
and the neighbors.  
It made picking weeds a ceremony.  
Something worthy of commencement.  
It brought new meaning to the dirt under my nails.

Friday, January 11, 2013

"there is a place called heaven"...

**coffee date with dad. Nov 2012**



"There is a place called ‘heaven’ where the good here unfinished is completed; and where the stories unwritten, and the hopes unfulfilled, are continued. We may laugh together yet."
 J.R.R. Tolkien
 
 
 
on christmas day.
i said goodbye to my dad.
 
i sat beside him.
as his tired.
broken down.
and diseased.
human body.
took its last breath.
 
and i closed my eyes.
as his soul.
escaped.
 
free at last.
 
into the beautiful.
hereafter.
 
 **

and it felt like i might disappear too.
into the sky.
into the earth.

invisible.

it seemed like it would be.
so easy to do.
and so painless.

be gone from here.
be wherever he was.


but that isn't how these things go.

my body.
my soul.
were still one.
were still symbiotic.

i was still here.

**

and i'm glad for it.
and i know my dad is too.

there is work here.
un-done for me.
 
and i'm inspired.
anew.
to get to it.
 
**
 
i've learned.
the pain eases.
and it helps that.

i still feel.
a very real and present.
connection with my dad.

he's now the official.
over-seer of my dreams.

cheering me to the highest mountain tops.
to the farthest reaches of my comprehension.

where all our love lives on.
and we are laughing together.
still.


**

life is short, people.
shorter than we may ever know.
 
but it's amazing.
and beautiful.
and full.
 
if we let it.
 
let's live it now.
today.
 
while we can.
 
**
 
no regrets.
 
 
 

Friday, October 12, 2012



today was a day.
in the woods.
by the river.

with a roof of tree limbs.
and a carpet of vibrant colored leaves.

the hues were indescribable.
reds. oranges. yellows. greens.
and the feeling of walking down the autumnal path.
enclosed in a sensory world.
of crunch.
and chill.
and color.
could not be captured in photo.

i tried again.
and again.
but the images never recreated.
the magic.
of the path.

the feeling of blending in.
of being camouflaged.
among the fallen branches.
fallen leaves.
 
pictures.
were never able to properly portray.
what it felt like.
to be adopted.
by the autumn.